Darling in The Franxx: Every Step of The Way
by deadfortress
Summary: Hiro and Zero Two, the pair of lovebirds, are about to undergo a life-changing event. An event that would forever morph the structure of their relationship and test the bonds that hold them together. It's a story of love, hardship and salvation amidst a flurry of adversities and misfortune. But as they say, love has a tendency to overpower fate.
1. The Beginning of The End

**A/N: Hello peeps. This is my first ever fanfiction so please do excuse the grammatical and punctuation errors. This fic started off as a "what if?", so the scenarios might be a little iffy at best, I must admit. **

**Just a note, this story takes place in a universe that slightly veers off from the main series of events that take place in the anime. Hiro and Zero Two are officially a couple and thus in this story Hiro had already regained his memories. And one more thing, this story starts off late into the anime.**

**Without further ado, enjoy!**

**The Beginning Of The End**

"Mohorovicic class closing in on your position about 500 clicks away" Hachi's voice sounded over the open comms.

"Understood" Hiro firmly said as his grip on the stamen controls tightened.

"Neh Darling, looks like we have some company eager to join us isn't it?" Zero Two chimed in with a wicked grin as Strelitzia's face appeared on the top right of the Franxx's HUD.

Hiro silently chuckled at his partner's cute eagerness to get into another fight.

"Yeah but let's not get ahead of ourselves... they're still a threat to be reckoned with" Hiro added, a slight bit of concern in his voice.

"Darling ~ you don't have to be so firm you know ~. They're just a few icky little klaxosaurs. Nothing me and my darling can't handle". Zero Two tried to comfort Hiro.

She could feel some tension in Hiro's movements as he took control of Strelitzia. Using the bond they shared through Strelitzia, Zero Two used her neural pathways to calm Hiro's nerves.

"Darling ~ It's alright... you don't need to be so tense" she said softly with her angelic voice.

Hiro shivered in delight as his neuroreceptors tingled with pleasure and comfort, slowing down his pulsating heart. Hiro cracked a warm smile towards the HUD and let out a long deep breath, an effort to calm his nerves.

"Thank you, Zero Two"

"Anything for my darling~. Whenever you're down I'll pick you up just like we promised" she beamed a smile towards her partner.

"_Gosh what did I do to deserve you",_ Hiro thought to himself as he replied Zero Two's smile with a warm smile of his own, a slight rosy tint painting his pale cheeks.

"Hiro, Zero Two, are you two fine with taking that Moho Class on your own?" Ichigo's voice suddenly entered the comms.

A slight panting could be heard in her voice. But otherwise she seemed to be calm and collected. A product of all the klaxosaur slaughtering she and the squad had been carrying out for the past half hour outside of Plantation 13.

"We're fine Ichigo.. thanks for asking" Hiro spoke with a reassuring tone.

"As long as I'm with Darling, even a Moho-class should be easy pickings", Zero Two added playfully, a hint of conviction in her voice.

Hiro's face began to show signs of slight blushing but otherwise he still wore a warm smile. Ichigo couldn't help but release a sweet, amused set of giggles through the comms.

"Well alright then you two. Happy hunting! And Hiro make sure nothing bad happens to Zero Two" Ichigo reminded; still letting out a series of giggles.

She was expecting Hiro to counter her mention of protecting Zero Two. All this time she's been telling Zero Two to keep Hiro safe, but Ichigo felt that she'd tease the stamen this time around. And judging by the brief moment of silence that followed her words, she could tell her words played their intended role. Unseen, but clearly known to Ichigo, Hiro became flustered and his blush deepened tenfold.

"W-wait Ichigo what do you-"

Ichigo closes the comms before Hiro has a chance to finish his sentence. Zero Two chuckled in delight as she witnessed her darling struggle to get his bearings straight after the playful tease Ichigo gave.

"Daaarling ~ you'll protect me right?" she reaffirmed, her cyan eyes doing their best impression of puppy eyes, seemingly to add to Hiro's embarrassment.

"O-Of course" Hiro managed to say, his cheeks now a deep shade of crimson.

Zero Two heartily chuckled at the state she's put her partner in.

"It's okay darling ~ I know you'll protect me" she spoke with a reassuring tone as she flashed Hiro a small smile. "And I'll do whatever it takes to protect my darling ~".

Hiro could only do so much as wear a small smile, his senses being overloaded with embarrassment and his cheeks still blushing profusely.

The pair continue to journey onwards toward the Moho-class until Hachi appears once again on the comms. But this time his voice is garbled by some static, most definitely due to the limited range of the communications devices at the command centre.

"Stre..zia...fa...ack...supe..man...class".

Hiro wore a guise riddled with confusion and perplexion, with worry evident on his face as his brows furrowed and scrunched up; clearly struggling to decipher Hachi's message.

"Z-Zero Two can you make out what he's saying?" Hiro asked; his voice showing hints of concern and fear. His hands began to shake slightly as beads of sweat run down his cheeks. "I-It sounds like he said there was a super lehman class nearby..."

Strelitzia's face appears once again on the HUD.

"Neh Darling, if you want to back out now and rendezvous with our friends I'm fine with that" Zero Two states with a firm face, yet she doesn't seem disappointed.

Hiro let out a sigh.

"But the others are counting on us to-"

"Darling..." Zero Two calls out faintly, dispiritedly, almost as if she's sighing with a hint of disappointment and concern in her voice.

"Your safety is more important to me than killing those klaxosaurs... the last thing I want is to" her voice suddenly goes soft and a crack can be heard "...to l-lose you..."

Hiro's body suddenly becomes stiff as he sees the state his lover is in but soon he lets out another sigh and flashes her a warm smile.

"Alright Zero Two, it's best we go back"

Zero Two's face started to light up again as she flashes Hiro a small smile.

"It's for the best darling" she stated softly, her voice as sweet as ever.

"Let's try to get back as fast as we can before those monsters can get any closer"

"Mhm" Zero Two nods.

Hiro fumbled with the buttons on the stamen controls to pull up his comms, allowing Ichigo's voice enters the comms once more.

"Hiro, Zero Two, what's wrong?" she asks worriedly.

"Darling and I got a transmission from Hachi... there's a super Lehman in the area so we're falling back" Zero Two clarified with a firm voice, a stark contrast to her usually jovial and carefree nature, a sign that she's in her serious mode.

"A S-super Lehman?!" Ichigo stammered as she began to realize the situation.

"We're closing in on the squad right now from the east" Hiro added as Delphinium's faint silhouette appears over the horizon, although they seemed to still be quite a distance away judging by how small Delphinium appears to be on the HUD.

A sudden rumble from the earth beneath Strelitzia interrupted his train of thought. The rumbling grew louder and louder until it started to become deafening to the pair.

"Zero Two! What's going on?!" Hiro shouted, fear clearly evident in his voice.

His hands started to tremble yet again; almost slipping from the stamen controls.

"Darling we've got company! Big ones!" his partner bellowed, frustration in her tone.

The ground beneath them began to crumble. Biomechanical appendages and limbs spewed forth, black as the night with blue accents. But they weren't the conrad type. They were something far worse. The Lehman had arrived.

"Activate thrusters!" Hiro shrieked with as loud of a voice as he could muster.

It wasn't to ensure that his partner could hear him, but because he was utterly terrified.

"We'll get as high as we can and outmaneuver this thing!" Zero Two suggested as the thrusters boomed to life.

The roaring engines at maximum power caused the cockpit to vibrate vigorously. The sudden G-force of the ascent pulled Hiro back into his seat. But amidst the chaos, his skin turned pale with sweat running down his face like a river, his bangs sweaty. Absolute fear, that was what he was feeling. As they ascended higher and higher into the clouds, he heard a static roar coming from beneath him, presumably from the Lehman class beneath them, emerging from the ground like the devil himself had been awoken from his slumber in the pits of Hell.

"Z-ZERO TWO WE NEED SOME EVASIVE MANEUVERS!"

All Hiro could do right now was shout, focusing on the stamen controls was tough as it was. All he could hear was his heartbeat, his partner's growls and pants and most of all the clicking of the monster's digits.

"DARLING HOLD ON!"

Strelitzia made a sharp bank right as they did a 90 degree turn to the left, he saw the Lehman's massive forearm, with its digits as long and scaley as a lizard's. Its nails, no... its claws.., as long as half the height of the Franxx. Right as the arm reached into the sky, the fingers of the monster balled into a fist almost as if it was trying to grab onto something. It was about to grab onto Strelitzia. Hiro gulped, saliva coating his throat which by now was feeling extremely hoarse and dry.

"_I can't be scared now... not when Zero Two needs me.."_, Hiro thought to himself as he felt fear overload his mind.

Now more than ever would he need to prove that he could handle a klaxosaur this massive. Now more than ever would he need to give his all to protect Zero Two, his Zero Two, the very reason he had the will to live.

As Strelitzia continued to dodge the beast's advances, they finally caught a view of the Lehman class in all its glory, it's terror. Standing at roughly the height of a plantation was the Lehman class, a horned beast, horns as long as a Franxx, with sharp protrusions lining its back. But what terrified the pair most of all was the fact that only half the beast's body was visible.. the rest was hidden underneath the Earth.

"D-D-Darling how big is this klaxosaur", Zero Two stammered, fear absolutely evident in her voice.

Gone was the stoic and brave facade she had tried so hard to put on. Her pupils dilated. She was experiencing true fear for the first time in ages... the fear of losing her darling.

"I-I don't know Zero Two..". Hiro attempted to give her some reassurance, but in the state of fear he was in, he was at a loss for words, completely mortified by what he witnessed below him.

"ZERO TWO, HIRO, WHAT THE HELL IS THAT", Ichigo shrieked through the comms, her voice breaking the pair out of their fearful daze.

"Lehman class!" Hiro hastily replied.

"FALL BACK, I REPEAT FALL BACK DO NOT ENGAGE!" Ichigo bellowed once again, her voice now a lot more firm than before.

"ROGER", the pair roared in unison before revving up the thrusters a second time up to maximum power.

Just as they were beginning to fly east towards the squad, the Franxx stopped abruptly in mid-air as if it was stopped by an invisible wall. Hiro almost slipped out of his stamen seat, but the restraints on his waist prevented it.

"HNGG"

Hiro's eyes suddenly dilated and his body froze. He knew what was happening. The Lehman had a grip on Strelitzia. His Zero Two was getting hurt.

"ZERO TWO!"

Hiro's cry tore out through the air, the sheer fear in his voice was so evident that it would send shivers down anyone who'd be unfortunate enough to witness the horror unfolding.

"HNGGGG IT'S GOT US DARLING", Zero Two screamed, a mix of pain and frustration in her voice. "AAAGGHHH", she let out another scream of pain, almost as if she was gargling on her saliva as the sound of the monster's claws digging against the metal became more audible.

The Lehman was digging into her left foot, preventing her from flying any further. Slowly but surely, the monster was dragging Strelitzia out of the air and towards the ground.

"DON'T YOU DARE HURT MY ZERO TWO", the terrified stamen hissed at the klaxosaur.

Hiro took control of the Franxx and lunged his spear towards the digits of the klaxosaur. But to no avail, the spear merely bounced off the klaxosaur's claws as they dug deeper and deeper into the metal, skewering Strelitzia's left leg.

"HHHNNNGGGG"

Another blood-curdling cry of pain ushered out from Zero Two, one that would galvanize Hiro into a state of rage and desperation.

_Nonononononono I can't let this happen. I CAN'T LET HER GET HURT. NOTHING HURTS MY ZERO TWO._

Hiro once again lunged the spear towards the hand that grips Strelitzia's left leg while screaming like a cornered anima at the top of his lungs. Sensing what Hiro was about to do, Zero Two gave the arm that held the magma spear a boost of energy as she directed the Franxx's power towards the right arm. Unfortunately, the second attempt proved to be futile just like the first, but this didn't stop the raging stamen from trying again. He wasn't about to give up.. not when his Zero Two's life was on the line. Once again he struck the claws of the beast and this time the momentum of his strike managed to loosen the beast's grip.

They were free.

Strelitzia used this fleeting opportunity to break free from the beast's grip.

"ACTIVATE THRUSTERS TO FULL THROTTLE" Hiro shouted, his voice filled with desperation.

The thrusters roared back to life once again and propel the Franxx further away from the Lehman class.

"D-DARLING WE DID IT" Zero Two choked as Xs ran down Strelitzia's faceplate, she was tearing up with tears of joy.

A voice from the comms snapped the pair out of their ecstacy though. The voice on the other end was stoic, but hints of desperation could be heard.

"Strelitzia this is Hachi... we.. have an urgent request for you..."

_NO! NO! NO! NOT LIKE THIS HACHI PLEASE DONT PLEASE DONT TELL ME YOU'RE GOING TO ASK US TO KILL THAT THING.. PLEASE DONT PUT MY ZERO TWO IN HARM'S WAY.._

"... we require that you.. dispatch the Lehman class by any means necessary..."

A tense and eerie silence in the cockpit followed Hachi's commands. Hiro's grip on the stamen controls tightened, his knuckles white and his fingers clenching the controls with all his might. His breathing became ragged and heavy, he was hyperventilating. He choked as he tried to find the words he wished to say to Hachi. Hachi interrupted his train of thought however by continuing with his solemn, desperate request.

"... if you two don't kill the klaxosaur.. I'm afraid the entire plantation will be at risk.. and so will your squad".

He couldn't take it anymore.. he was going to break.

Tears begin flowing down Hiro's cheeks as he grit his teeth. Tears of anger, tears of hate, tears of fear and sorrow. He sobbed quietly inside the cockpit.. but whatever effort he put into hiding his tears were futile as his sobbing became more and more audible. Hiro's mental state continued to deteriorate as he mumbled to himself - a helpless boy's ramblings.

"No.. please no. I don't want Zero Two to get hurt... I don't care if I get hurt... I'd go through anything to keep her safe. Just please I don't want to lose her" Hiro quietly mumbled to himself as he clutched the sides of his head.

A soft, angelic voice snapped him out of his deliriousness.

"H-Hachi.. can I have a minute to discuss this with my Darling.. please?" Zero Two softly implored.

There was no anger or frustration in her voice, only fear and hints of desperation. A short silence followed her request until Hachi finally replied.

"Understood code 002"

"Strelitzia engage autopilot" Zero Two commanded swiftly, a bit of a contrast to her soft, desperate tone from earlier.

The stamen controls finally retracted and the paracapacity display went off with a low-pitched hum.

"Darling..." Zero Two softly called out as she turned around to meet Hiro, her beloved, who at this point was still sobbing with his head held in his hands.

As Hiro heard her angelic voice, he looked up to see her face. Puffy eyes stared back at him, tears streaming down her face, but despite all of this, Hiro's lover continued to wear a warm smile, despite the daunting situation they're in.

"Z-Zero Two" is all Hiro managed to say before his vision is once again blurred by the tears welling up in his eyes.

He lifted his back from the seat, leaning forward. Almost in an instant, Zero Two hopped off the pistil platform and immediately wrapped her arms around her darling.

"Sshhh it's gonna be alright, Darling.. everything's going to be alright.. sshhh listen to my voice ~" she delicately whispered into Hiro's ear as she rubs his back with one hand and gently caresses his shaggy hair with another.

Despite her attempts to calm her darling, Hiro continues to sob even louder as he buries his head into her neck, arms tightly gripping around her back. To him, it was as if she would disappear into thin air if he were to let her go from his embrace.

"I'm not ready Zero Two.. I don't want to lose you.." Hiro meekly whimpered as his emotions spill out from him like water rushes from a broken dam.

His sobbing continues to die down slowly but he sniffles more and more, mucus dripping from his nose. To anyone else Hiro would seem pathetic and cowardly for breaking down in the middle of a battle. But not to Zero Two. She knew well that Hiro had a reason for breaking down. He had been through alot... and now was the time that the barriers that kept his raging emotions at bay finally broke down.

Zero Two herself was on the verge of another panic attack. But she knew that her darling needed her more than ever right now to be the one leading the way, the one to provide comfort to a broken boy on the verge of insanity. Zero Two placed her hands on Hiro's shoulder and gently left his embrace. With tears welling up in her eyes, she pulled away from Hiro, but not enough for his hands to lose their grip on her back. Still putting on a comforting smile, albeit one that had noticeable hints of despair, she gently pressed her horns against Hiro's forehead, a sign of affection, and nuzzled her nose on his.

"Hiro..." Zero Two whispered as she cupped his cheeks, wiping away the tears staining his face with her thumbs.

Hiro's pupils begin to dilate and he gasps under his breath. It was the first time she'd ever called him by his actual name. His breathing ceased for a fleeting moment as he absorbed the situation. From his point of view it was as if the gears of time ceased to turn.

"... you are my darling, Hiro. And whenever I'm with you, I feel like I can fly again... I know we're going through alot right now... but trust me... we'll get through this.." she whispered.

To no surprise, Hiro once again began to feel the rush of tears streaming down his face, but this time he doesn't cower, he doesn't run away. He cupped Zero Two's cheeks in his hands and gently pulled her face closer until both of their lips were merely inches apart. Sensing what Hiro was about to do, Zero Two closed her eyes, preparing her lips to meet Hiro's. The pair shared a long, passionate kiss. But this time instead of it being filled with lust and carnal love, it was filled with longing, sorrow, sadness, comfort.

Soon after, they broke away from their kiss, both quietly gasping for air, their rosey cheeks seemingly glowing in the dark cockpit. Hiro opened his eyes and stares into the cyan eyes that stare back at him. A warm smile cracked on his face, a sign that he was slowly regaining his spirit, his sanity. He caressed Zero Two's cheeks gently, wiping away the tears that stain her cheeks, just like how she wiped away his tears.

"I'll always protect you Zero Two.." he whispered as he pulled her into another embrace.

Zero Two reciprocated the embrace with her hands gripping Hiro's back.

"Mhm darling ~ I know you will" she states in a chirpy voice as she sniffles.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

The engines of Strelitzia roared back to life once again and it's faceplate was now showing Zero Two's red eyes, a grin on her face.

"Ready, Zero Two?" Hiro said, his voice laden with conviction and confidence, as Strelitzia turned around to face the Lehman class.

"I'm always ready whenever we're together, Darling ~" Zero Two hummed in a sing-song voice.

Readying her lance in her right hand, Strelitzia pressed a button on the lance that allowed magma to flow to the tip. The beast took notice of Strelitzia's offensive stance in the sky and hissed. A static hiss that had a high pitch, one that could shatter glass. Sensing that Strelitzia was not out of the fight, the beast crashed its palms into the Earth.

"Neh, Darling do you think it's trying to mock us?" Zero Two asked.

Clearly she was amused by the beast's behaviour as Hiro heard her giggle slightly.

"I guess this thing thinks we're nothing but fodder... how about we let it know we mean business?" Hiro replied, his voice now oozing with confidence.

"Mhm Darling ~ you took the words right out of my-" Zero Two stopped her sentence mid-way as she noticed that the Lehman class's body began inching upwards from beneath the Earth.

Strelitzia's eyes begin to dilate as the klaxosaur used its arms to release itself from the Earth, causing the surrounding barren soil to crumble into the abyss that the klaxosaur left.

Standing at twice the height of the plantation was the klaxosaur, its tail revealed, and its legs thick and scaly like a mix between a bull's legs and a lizard's. Strelitzia quickly snapped herself out of her daze and brought herself into a defensive stance. The Lehman class roared, shaking the heavens and vibrating the Franxx's cockpit.

"WE WON'T BACK DOWN AGAIN" Hiro and Zero Two shouted in unison.

Though one could see the fear in their eyes, their hearts were pulsating with desperation, with rage, with conviction.

"DARLING WE HAVE TO AIM FOR THE CORE!" Zero Two shouted.

"WHERE DO WE EVEN FIND IT" Hiro asked, panicking but still trying to maintain his facade.

Strelitzia's eyes quickly scaled up and down the klaxosaur's hideous form and dilated when she saw a glowing patch on the head of the klaxosaur, in between it's ram-like horns. Blue veins spread out from the patch throughout the Lehman's body.

"THERE, DARLING!"

Zero Two focused the Franxx's view on the blue, pulsating patch.

"Strelitzia do you copy?" Ichigo's voice came into the comms once again.

"Loud and clear Ichigo!" Hiro replied.

"We're going to take on that Lehman class before it gets any closer to the plantatio-"

"HIRO YOU'RE DOING WHAT?!" Ichigo interrupts Hiro before he could finish his sentence.

"I AM NOT LETTING YOU TWO TAKE THAT THING ON ALONE. RETURN TO THE PLANTATION NOW"

"Ichigo... if we don't do this.. there won't be a plantation to go back to..." Hiro says softly, not trying to escalate the situation further.

"NO AS SQUAD LEADER I WON'T ALLOW -" Ichigo screams through the comms with fear and anger laddening her voice before she's interrupted by Hiro.

"Ichigo... I have Zero Two.. and she has me.. we'll both keep each other safe... I promise" Hiro states softly but with conviction in his voice as he beams a small smile at the HUD toward Strelitzia's face.

Zero Two reciprocates her darling's comforting reassurance with a smile of her own. A moment of silence follows his reply until Ichigo lets out a long, deep sigh.

"F-fine.." Ichigo stammers. "But if anything happens I'm going to have a field day with the two of you!"

Zero Two giggles heartily at Ichigo's command. It was as if the severity of the situation didn't impact her sense of humour one bit.

"Haaaai leader-san~" she hummed jovially.

Ichigo finally exited the comms and the pair began to go into their serious stance once again.

"Zero Two, we'll fly around the Lehman to throw it off and after we've got it into a daze.. we'll plunge onto its head, pierce the core and kill it" Hiro suggests.

"Sounds like a plan darling!" Zero Two chimes in.

Together they revved up the engines, tilting the Franxx forward to begin their dash towards the Lehman.

"YOSH (Let's go)!" Hiro bellowed out before Strelitzia's twin thrusters knocked him back into his seat.

As the barren landscape whizzed past him and the klaxosaur grew in size in the Franxx's HUD, he began to perspire, due to fear no less. But deep in his heart he had the overwhelming will to act, to face his fears and cower from them no longer. Zero Two felt the same. Her eyes on Strelitzia's faceplate were locked onto the Lehman class, onto the patch that would be their ticket into saving their squad, their home. It didn't matter that the bureaucracy of APE almost managed to tear them apart because they admitted, that without plantation 13, without misteltein, they'd have nowhere else to go.

The pair screamed at the top of their lungs as they approached the Lehman class. If one were to view this battle as a spectator, Strelitzia would seem to be the size of an ant, a speck of dust compared to the gargantuan Lehman class. But the two lovers couldn't care less about the unfavourable odds. They had each other. And that was more than enough.

"Zero Two, hand coming from the right!" Hiro shouted his warning as the beast raised its hand, seemingly to swat the Franxx out of the sky.

Heeding Hiro's command, Strelitzia banked to the left and descended a few feet to dodge the attack.

"Darling, I have a plan!" Zero Two suggested, already panting from all the action.

"What is it, Zero Two?" Hiro questioned, slight confusion in his tone as his partner's actions were often unpredictable even to the most skilled of fighters such as Delphinium.

"No time, Darling! Just bear with me!" is all she managed to say before the thrusters shut off and the Franxx enters a free fall.

"Z-ZERO TWO WHAT ARE YOU DOING!" Hiro choked out absolutely terrified and confused.

Zero Two didn't reply however, as they plummeted towards the Earth. The beast though took notice of this and directed its palm toward the Franxx, intending to slam the Franxx into the Earth. As Strelitzia approached the barren soil beneath them, so did the hand that eagerly wanted to put an end to their lives. Hiro's heart began to palpate at an unnatural speed.

_Zero Two I really hope you know what you're doing._

"DARLING ACTIVATE THE THRUSTERS NOW!" Zero Two bellowed out her command out of the blue, catching Hiro off guard.

He still managed to absorb her words though and presses the red buttons on each of his stamen controls.

"THRUSTERS ON FULL POWER!" Hiro shouted, the G-force once again pulling him back into his seat.

As the thrusters boomed back to life, Strelitzia exited the free fall and swiftly dodged the Lehman class's palm moments before it crashed into the Earth, sending dust and soil flying into the air. From the cloud of dust, Strelitzia dashed out and made a break towards the beast's face.

"DARLING, CHANGE OF PLANS! WE'RE GONNA TAKE OUT ITS CORE THROUGH IT'S EYES!"

_I hope this works, Zero Two..._

"H-HAI" is all Hiro could muster to say before they finally approach the beast's eyes.

The eyes were a deep blue, with no pupils or irises, giving the demonic creature a soulless look. Hiro gulped, warm saliva running down his dry throat.

"Don't be scared, don't be scared, don't be scared" Hiro kept repeating to himself under his breath.

Truth be told, he was just about ready to break into a panic attack. The entire fate of the plantation rested on his shoulders. His lover's life was in his hands. In what felt like an eternity before Strelitzia's lance striked the beast's eye, he looked towards Zero Two, the love of his life. She wasn't shaking, she wasn't cowering. Whether or not it was all a facade didn't matter. Her resolve could clearly be seen.

_If Zero Two can do it... so can I._

His eyes then shifted towards the beast that was taking up the entire view of his HUD. His digits gripped the stamen controls with such ferocity. He was ready to strike. He was ready to act. No longer would he be fearful.

The pair screamed as they both took control of the Franxx, their movements syncing with one another. They plunged the lance into the beast's eye, driving it deep until they could feel the edge of the core grazing against their spear.

"DARLING I CAN FEEL THE CORE" Zero Two cried out her voice filled with adrenaline and hope.

"PUSH IT DEEPER ZERO TWO" Hiro hastily commanded.

It was a mix of desperation and fear. The pair screamed into the heavens, their cries of exhilaration and adrenaline almost drowning out the deafening roar of pain emanating from the beast. Finally, they both gave the lance one last push before they felt the lance pierce the core. A muffled explosion could be heard from within the beast's eye.

"D-DARLING WE DID-"

"ZERO TWO" Hiro's cry of terror snapped Zero Two out of the daze she was in.

In her ecstacy of piercing the beast's core, she didn't notice that the beast didn't intend on going out without taking the Franxx along with it.

To the right of Strelitzia, the beast's fist was speeding straight into the Franxx. In what seemed like an eternity, as time seemed to stop for Zero Two, she shifted her head to the right. Her pupils dilated, the fist was mere inches away from the Franxx. Usually situations like these wouldn't be of much concern to the pistil whenever the pair fought Gutenbergs and other massive klaxosaurs. But this time... this time she knew she received the short end of the stick.

Up close, the beast's fist was as large as a cargo transport ship. To make matters worse, its knuckles were serrated with sharp protrusions, seemingly to add salt to the wound.

"D-Darling... I'm sorry.." she muttered to herself.

Tears were welling in her eyes. She knew well that if these were to be the pair's last moments, then she would be the obvious culprit for their demise. Only now did she realize that her darling's life had reached its pitiful, untimely end; all because of her reckless antics. She closed her eyes, preparing for the worst. Her life flashed before her eyes.

And all she could see was her darling. Hiro was her life. The hours they spent together in Garden. The night they spent crying in the light of a dimly lit candle as Hiro regained his lost memories. The time they first slept together in each other's warmth. Their first kiss.

If it didn't seem like she was tearing up before, then now it would seem like a dam had been broken behind her eyes as tears rushed through her closed eyelids.

"I love you.. Darli-" she whispered to herself only to be interrupted when she felt a warmth emanating from behind her.

She slowly opened her eyelids, black-clad arms were wrapped around her waist and she could feel a lock of fuzzy hair tickle her neck.

"I love you too... Zero Two" a voice came from behind her, mere inches away from her ear.

"D-d-darling?.." she choked.

In the time it took for the fist to close in on Strelitzia, Hiro had jumped out of his seat and protectively encased Zero Two in his arms, never to let go. Knowing that the strike of the fist would severely damage the Franxx, and by extension cripple Zero Two, he released her from the pistil controls and embraced her for the impact.

"I'll protect you Zero Two... just like I promised" he whispered into her ear, his voice as soft as ever.

His tone didn't have any trace of sadness nor fear, just comfort and longing. Truly her life mattered more to him... now more than ever. Zero Two now began to weep, tears streamed down her eyes as she gripped Hiro's arms that were wrapped around her waist. She didn't want to let go.

_But alas, it happened..._


	2. Please Don't Leave Me

**A/N: Hey guys, I'm back with another chapter to satiate yesterday's sudden cliffhanger! My plan for this fanfic is to release new chapters everyday since I've got 28 chapters in my computer waiting to be edited and published. So please do feel free to leave a review, I'd absolutely appreciate some constructive feedback! Without further a do, enjoy ~**

**Please Don't Leave Me**

But then... it finally happened.

The Lehman class's fist slammed into the Franxx, immediately shattering the faceplate of the cockpit and devastating the cockpit itself. The force at which the fist slammed into Strelitzia was so immense that each of the Franxx's arms were torn off due to sheer inertia alone. Strelitzia, now with a blank and shattered face plate, was sent tumbling down toward the Earth, a full kilometre freefall. As for the fate of the pilots inside, only the heavens knew what terror they were facing. Finally after what felt like an eon of free falling, Strelitzia finally crashed into the barren soil, launching dust clouds up into the air.

As for the wretched beast, it seemed that it managed to bring Strelitzia down with it before it itself gave a final roar of anguish and pain. With the grace of Strelitzia's effort and pain, the Lehman class's head finally tumbled to the ground, it's body limply following suit. It crashed into the dirt, laying there motionless, sending dust clouds hundreds of feet high.

But the question remains, where was squad 13 during all of this?

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

"H-HIRO, ZERO TWO" was all Ichigo could scream as she saw the Franxx plummet to the barren landscape below.

Both the pistil and the stamen stood there, frozen, as they saw Strelitzia taking a dive into the dirt, as they saw their friends' demise. Ichigo couldn't stop the tears from streaming down. She couldn't breath, she couldn't think. She choked on her own saliva, unable to utter a single word.

Goro stammered and stuttered as his friend's name left his mouth. "H-H-Hir-r-ro..."

He grit his teeth and he closed his eyes.

"This all has to be a dream right? " he thought to himself.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAA". Ichigo's cry of terror, fear, sorrow, confusion and pain broke him from his daze.

She was clutching her head, no longer gripping the pistil controls. Lumps of tears flowed down her cheeks and pooled on the sides of the pistil controls. As she continued to scream, her back arched back.

She couldn't accept it. She couldn't fathom it. She knew that their lives were finite as parasites, they were merely Papa's pawns... but she never expected the pair that just wanted to be alone and isolated from the deception of the world to be... the first to go.

"H-Hiro... Zero Two" Kokoro whispered to herself.

She was never all that close to Hiro but she still saw him as a friend, as a companion she could trust. Tears welled up in her eyes. Her reaction to the obscene horror was shared by the rest of the pistils. Even Mitsuru, who was always cold and brash with Hiro was taken aback as he was forced to absorb the situation he had the misfortune to witness.

"H-How..." he whispered.

"T-T-They're alright aren't they?" Zorome started to mutter to himself.

He couldn't fathom how the strongest Franxx in the squad was able to be defeated. Even though he was envious of Hiro and Zero Two's abilities, he still looked up to them. And to see his role models being taken out in such a horrific manner downright crushed his soul. He resisted the tears, but in the end his efforts were futile.

"S-SQUAD, L-LISTEN UP" Ichigo choked, forcing back the tears as she continued to half-weep, half-command.

"R-RENDEZVOUS ON STRELITZIA" she continued.

"W-WE'RE GONNA BRING THEM BACK HOME" she clenched her fists.

She knew well that what she said was open to interpretation. Either they brought the pair back home safe and sound, or... they'd bring them back home to rest... eternally.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

The world was black, Zero Two could hear nothing. She could feel nothing. All her senses were numb.

_"This must be death"_ she thought to herself. _"We can rest forever now.. darling.." _

_"Zero Two..."_ a voice came from behind her.

_"Z-Zero Two..."_ the voice continued to call her name.

The voice... it was her darling's voice.

_"D-Darling?..."_ she whispered back.

_"Zero Two... please... I need you..."_ Hiro's voice spoke again.

She noticed it was filled with sadness... and sorrow.

_"D-Darling.. where are you?"_ she softly called out.

_"Please... Zero Two.. don't leave me.."_, was the last thing Hiro said as a deafening ring invaded Zero Two's senses.

As the ringing grew louder, her other senses came back too. She felt some warm liquid on her hands. Slowly, she opened her eyes and she finally saw the cockpit.

The HUD was shattered, leaving the breeze from outside the Franxx to flow in. The pistil seat was destroyed, with wires and cables hanging over it. She noticed that she was lying down on the floor, right-cheek-down and left-cheek-up. One thing she didn't fail to notice however was the warm liquid from before that was pooling on her hands.

"Is that my blood?" she asked herself.

As she forced her eyelids to open even more, she made out a fuzzy black mass obstructing her view. As she focused her senses more, she could feel something long, something soft gripping her back. She mustered all her strength to get up. Using her elbows to support the weight of her upper body, she slowly pushed herself up to sit on her thighs. But as she did so, the sudden realization came to her. Her pupils dilated, her breathing became ragged.

_D-D-DARLING. _

HER DARLING WAS THE ONE LYING ON THE FLOOR NEXT TO HER, MOTIONLESS.

She quickly regained her senses and shifted her eyes towards the body of her lover. He was lying, face down on the floor. He was motionless. Blood was pulling around his head, where her hand had been.

"DARLING!" she screamed in terror and fear.

_NONONONO DARLING DARLING DARLING DARLING'S HURT DARLING'S HURT I NEED TO HELP HIM NO PLEASE DARLING DARLING'S HURT_

She immediately grabbed Hiro's shoulders and rolled him gently over onto his back. What she saw completely mortified her. In all her time in being the stamen killer, never had she ever witnessed something so horrifying. And to make matters worse, she didn't expect to see her darling like this.

His left eye was closed shut, blood streaming down from it like a waterfall. A piece of shrapnel was lodged in his chest, most likely piercing his lung. There were burn marks all over his torn stamen suit. Blood was dripping slowly out of his mouth which was left ajar. But the worst... the worst thing Hiro suffered was trauma-inducing to say the least. His right arm had a deep cut. So deep that the white of his bone could be seen. And his legs... they were twisted in the most unnatural way possible, his kneecaps pointing inwards and his bones horribly bent out of shape.

Zero Two gasped for air, closing her mouth with her hand as she stared in horror at her lover. She choked on her own saliva, trying to swallow was too much for her to handle at this moment. Tears began streaming down her cheeks. She couldn't handle it.

Her darling... her darling...

She let out a series of whimpers, inhaling sharp breaths as she did so. Her darling was hurt... Fearfully, she reached out her hand to cup Hiro's cheeks, her left palm still covering her mouth. She was choking up, fear was in her eyes and her mouth could only let out soft whimpers.

As she cupped Hiro's cheek and gently stroked it, she heard something. A sound that would knock her out of her daze and catapult her into action.

"Uugghhh", Hiro groaned as his eyelid slowly opened.

He was wheezing softly, his breaths short. He himself was choking, not because of fear, but because blood was pooling inside his mouth. He coughed the blood out as his eye did it's best to open fully.

"DARLING!" Zero Two screamed as she used both her hands to cup Hiro's cheeks. "DARLING" she sobbed. "D-DARLING YOU'RE ALIVE!".

She couldn't stop the tears. She continued to whimper as her face stood mere inches apart from Hiro's. Her tears dropped onto her lover's cheeks, slightly washing away the blood that had stained them. She whimpered and choked.

Her darling was alive.

She cried and cried, inhaling sharply to supply more oxygen to her body. The air felt thin, she couldn't think straight. But one thing she knew was that her darling was here... he was alive... and he needed her now, more than ever. She softly caressed his cheeks as she attempted to wipe the blood away. She was unable to utter a word. The emotions in her head were overwhelming. But a sound emanating from Hiro's lips brought her back to reality.

"Yu-Yukata... (That's good)", Hiro spoke softly.

His whisper would've been hard to make out if it hadn't been for Zero Two's enhanced senses. The pistil stood still for a moment as her pupils dilated.

Her darling... her darling managed to speak.

"D-Darling?" she whimpered as she shifted her eyes to meet his lone cyan eye.

As she focused on Hiro's face, she could hear him wheezing, every breath a burden for him to intake. More tears streamed down her cheeks. She didn't understand. What did her darling want to say to her?

Suddenly, something that felt like warm liquid over a rubbery material came into contact with her right cheek. It was Hiro's left hand, soaked with his own blood. Hiro gently raised his hand and cupped Zero Two's cheeks. Sensing this, Zero Two instinctively brushed her fingers over the back of Hiro's hand. She was awestruck.

But the words that left Hiro's mouth soon after would leave her frozen with a mixture of emotions.

"Y-You're okay...", he whispered softly as he cracked a small smile.

Although it was a slight smile, one could notice that it was filled with happiness.. satisfaction.. relief. Zero Two stared at him in disbelief... she was awestruck.

Even when he was in pain.. her darling only thought of her.. she was the only person that ever mattered to him.

Zero Two didn't resist the tears that continued to drip down her cheeks and onto the floor. Once again she choked and choked and whimpered and cried. She couldn't find the words to say to her darling. She herself was on the brink of a mental breakdown seeing her darling in the state that he was in.

_"Would he survive? "_ was the one thought that seemed to boom in her mind.

But she was released from her state of shock and awe when Hiro's bloodied hand slowly fell from her face and dropped onto the floor.

Once again... he was motionless.

Zero Two took a sharp breath and gasped, even more tears welled up in her eyes.

Realizing what might've happened.. _she broke. _

"DARLING! DARLING!"

"AAAGH" she whimpered loudly in agony. "PLEASE DON'T LEAVE ME DARLING".

She couldn't keep it in. She wailed and she wailed, hoping that the heavens would see her devastation and give her lover mercy.

"PLEASE I NEED YOU" she wailed as she proceeded to cling onto Hiro's back whilst rocking him back and forth in hopes of snapping him back to life. "PLEASE" she continued to cry, her whimpers getting louder and louder. "I CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT YOU DARLING"

Though no matter how much she rocked his body back and forth, he would not awaken from his slumber.

"AAAAGGGGHHHH" she cried, forcing every last bit of energy out of her throat as she gripped his back tightly.

Darling... her darling was gone...

"AAAAGGGGHHHH" she cried once again, this time devolving into a crying, wailing, whimpering mess as she clutched the back of Hiro's head, crying into his seemingly lifeless shoulders.

As she buried her cheeks deeper into the remnants of her lover's shoulders, her enhanced sense of hearing picked up something... a flicker of hope... a flame to ignite her spirits once again.

_Lub dub. Lub dub. Lub dub._

Zero Two gasped, her eyes bulging and her pupils dilating once more. And once again, the tears kept flowing from her eyes but this time... this time they weren't tears of sorrow and despair. They were tears of hope. The beating of Hiro's heart was faint, unnaturally faint. But it was beating nonetheless. Sensing that her darling still had a chance... a chance at life, she gripped him tightly, not wanting to let go. Sniffling on her own mucus, she approached her lips to his ears, intending to whisper words into the unconscious boy's ears. Though he wouldn't hear them, the pistil decided to speak nonetheless.

"I-I'll get you home safely... D-Darling" she whispered, still crying and whimpering.

Still trembling, she then placed a light kiss on his left temple and embraced the boy. It didn't matter that her darling was unconscious, the embrace still spoke volumes to her. She had hope... he had hope...

XxxxxxxxxxxxxX

"GORO WE NEED TO GO FASTER", Ichigo bellowed her command as Delphinium whizzed through the conrad class corpses to reach Strelitzia.

"I-ICHIGO WE'RE GOING AS FAST AS WE CAN" Goro stammered.

The Franxx was already using a large portion of its magma to fuel its thrusters, which by now were operating at maximum power.

"I DON'T CARE, GORO!", was all Ichigo bothered to reply.

_How could Goro not see the severity of the situation? Surely he knew that every second they spent away from the pair was a second wasted. It was a matter of life and death... _

"ICHIGO OVER THERE! I SEE IT" Goro shouted to his partner.

Delphinium's eyes shifted to the position pointed out by Goro. What she saw made her freeze where she stood. Her mind raced and her heart skipped a beat. Her pupils dilated and bulged, with fear no less. The shock and awe was unbearable. Laying a hundred meters before them was Strelitzia, or what's left of her. What remained of Strelitzia was merely her torso, her bottom half nowhere to be seen. It was most probably torn off after the devastating crash. The torso of the Franxx was badly beaten, holes everywhere and the metal plates covering the outer layer of the Franxx were all but destroyed, exposing the cables and wires beneath.

The head however... it was a nightmare. Strelitzia's ribbon-like extensions were all torn off and the faceplate ... it was non-existent, leaving the inner cockpit exposed.

And to no surprise, Ichigo began to choke up again. She had to resist the tears, she had to push on and determine the pair's fate. But she couldn't. The floodgates behind her blue eyes cracked, and tears began streaming down her face like a waterfall. She clenched her fists to numb the pain, but all it did was amplify the anguish she felt.

"H-Hiro... Z-Zero Two..." she sharply took in a breath.

"AAAAAAGGGGHHHH" she whimpered in despair, clutching her temples.

"I-ICHIGO" a voice shouted from behind her. "ICHIGO PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER".

Goro was trying his best to keep his partner from breaking, but it seemed his efforts were futile as Ichigo devolved further into a crying, sobbing mess on the pistil controls.

He grit his teeth. It was up to him now to save Hiro and his lover... or to at least get some closure on their fate. He took control of Delphinium, engaging the thrusters and dashed towards Strelitzia's head.

_"Every second counts"_ he thought to himself.

A few seconds could be the difference between life and death... and Goro knew that well. As much as he wanted to break down and let all his anguish out.. he couldn't. He had a duty to fulfill.. and he was determined to do so.

Soon after, the Franxx finally reached Strelitzia's cockpit. Goro severed the connection with Ichigo and immediately ran to the exit, bashing the door open with his foot. He couldn't waste any time, every second counted. Ichigo wasn't far behind him as they both jumped off Delphinium's faceplate and onto Strelitzia's.

"H-HIRO, ZERO TWO! WE'RE HERE" Ichigo screamed as loud as she could whilst running into the Franxx's cockpit.

There was no answer... she could feel the emotions crawling up her throat again.

_NO... HIRO... ZERO TWO... PLEASE DON'T TELL ME..._

She clenched her fists to numb the pain and moved on. As she entered the dark cockpit, it was eerily quiet... except for what sounded like sobbing and whimpering breaking the silence. As Ichigo's eyes adjusted to the darkness, there she spotted it... the most depressing sight she had ever seen.

There she was... Zero Two and Hiro both crouched on the ground, sitting on their thighs... but something was off... Ichigo knew that... Zero Two was embracing Hiro, her darling, as she sobbed into his shoulder, slowly rocking him back and forth. She was whimpering and gasping for air as tears ran down her cheeks, staining Hiro's stamen suit. On the other hand, Hiro seemed motionless, his arms limp and his hands lying close to the floor, bloodied from all the blood he had lost.

"H-H-H-H-Hi-r-ro" Ichigo whimpered softly, barely managing to use her voice.

She stumbled to the pair, half-running and half-stumbling until she finally fell to her knees beside them. Zero Two didn't notice her at first, but after Ichigo fell on her knees, sobbing at the sight before her, Zero Two took notice as her mind was sent back to reality.

"I-Ichigo?..." she quietly whimpered, still clutching on to her darling, one hand gripping the back of his head and the other stroking his back.

"H-Hiro... what h-h-happened to him?..." Ichigo asked softly, mustering up all her courage to ask the question she didn't want an answer to.

She knew that if Hiro was truly dead then... then she'd failed as a leader... she'd failed her best friend... the boy that she herself once loved... and failed the pair that so desperately wanted nothing but solitude and happiness.

Zero Two went silent for awhile, her silence only to be broken by more whimpering and sobbing as she clutched her darling tightly. She was broken... oh so broken.. Ichigo could see that, it was as clear as day. But what Zero Two said soon after would open the floodgates of emotions in Ichigo... the words that came out of the pistil's mouth... they were unexpected.

"D-Darling's hurt..." Zero Two whimpered, trying desperately to hold back the tears. "H-He's very h-hurt..." she continued, trying her best to make her voice audible to Ichigo, whilst the tears continued to run down her face.

"B-but... h-he's s-still alive..."

Ichigo gasped, her eyes dilating as her mind processed the words that just slipped from Zero Two's mouth.

"H-Hiro... h-he's still alive" she whispered to herself as she reached out her hand to Zero Two.

Those words... those were the three words she needed to hear to galvanise her into action. Her friend, her companion was still with them, he was alive. But she knew that wouldn't be the status quo for long if they lingered around any longer.

No... she had to act.

Reaching out, she placed her hand on Zero Two's shoulder. The pistil was still sobbing and sniffling but as she felt a soft hand on her shoulder, she looked up and realized who's digits it was.

"I-Ichigo?.." she asked confusingly, staring at the blue-haired girl in front of her who at this point was staring at the ground, her blue bangs shielding her eyes from view.

After a moment of silence and her grip on Zero Two's shoulder tightening, she mustered the courage to look at the horned girl in the eye. And what the pistil saw in the leader's eyes could only be described with one word. Conviction. As the girls both stared into each other's orbs for what felt like an eternity, a small, albeit comforting and reassuring smile crept up on Ichigo's face.

"Let's bring him home" Ichigo whispered softly to Zero Two.

All Zero Two could do was stare at the blue-haired girl. She didn't know how to react... the only thing on her mind was her darling.

"H-Hai", was all Zero Two could muster to say as more tears welled up in her eyes.

Ichigo knew that it would be a hard task to carry Hiro's beaten body out of the cockpit. Zero Two was another problem too.. she herself didn't exactly escape the ordeal unscathed. Judging by the pink-haired girl's arms, she was beaten badly, most probably having multiple muscles torn here and there. That was clearly evident judging by how she was already struggling to keep her arms around Hiro in an effort to keep him in her warm embrace. Her left foot seemed to also be worse for wear, with deep cuts around her left ankle, it seemed like it'd need a great effort for her to stand up on her feet, let alone walk. But luckily, Ichigo wasn't alone.

"GORO" she screamed at the top of her lungs, hoping that her partner would hear her from outside the cockpit, where he was waiting.

"I-ICHIGO?" he asked from outside the cockpit.

He purposely didn't ask her what was happening inside the cockpit... he was too weak to stomach the severity of the situation.

"GORO COME IN QUICK AND HELP ME" Ichigo screamed once again, frustration in her voice.

But Goro noticed something different about his partner's voice... it had a noticeable element of... conviction.

"H-HAI" Goro stammered as he started stumbling into the cockpit.

As he entered, what he saw froze him in his tracks.

"H-HIRO" he shouted as he rushed to his friend's limp, motionless body that was still being embraced by Zero Two.

"H-Hiro... what happened to you.." was all he could whisper to himself as tears started cascading down his cheeks.

He seldom cried.. but now was the time when the barriers he shielded himself with were broken down one by one.

"H-HIRO" he screamed at the top of his lungs, anguish and despair filling his voice as he reached out his hand towards his friend.

Zero Two was apprehensive when she saw the blonde-haired boy reach out to grab her darling. But she knew that he could be trusted...

_"He cares for darling too after all..." _she thought to herself before slowly putting her lover's body on the ground, slowly releasing him from her embrace.

As she did this, Goro immediately began to grip Hiro's shoulders as the motionless boy laid there on the cold floor of the cockpit. The first thing he did was not weep and sob over his body though... Goro gently placed his ears over Hiro's chest... in the hopes of hearing his beating heart. He gasped, his eyelids opened fully and his pupils dilated.

He heard it.. Hiro's heartbeat.

And not only did he hear the heartbeat, he could feel the air escaping Hiro's nose as he very faintly wheezed.

"H-Hiro..." Goro started muttering to himself. He then lifted his head up and looked at both of the pistils and stared at them in disbelief. "H-HE'S ALIVE" he shouted.

All Zero Two could do was stare at Goro... she knew her darling was still with her.. but yet the revelation still seemed new to her.. more tears escaped her eyes.. tears of hope. But something snapped within her... a sudden galvanisation to take action.

_All this while I've been crying and sobbing.. yet why haven't I made a move to get darling home?... I have to act now... I HAVE TO GET DARLING HOME BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE._

The sudden galvanisation made all her senses come to life, the pain that she had felt in her heart was transformed into courage. The courage to trudge through all the physical pain she had and to be brave in the face of horror and despair... to be brave... for her darling.

She grit her teeth and pressed her palms against the cold floor of the cockpit, willing herself to push herself up on her feet despite the seering, throbbing pain that she was feeling in her arms and ankles. It was a slow process, but not long after, she managed to stand on her own two feet. She softly winced in pain as her arms felt like they were being sliced open by knives and her legs felt like giving out. Ichigo noticed this and quickly stood by her side, putting her hands on Zero Two's left shoulder lest she suddenly fell over. Taking her first few steps ever since the fateful crash, she approached Hiro's body which was being tended to by Goro.

Goro was awestruck by Zero Two's resolve. Never had he seen anyone stand up in the face of pain and horror like Zero Two did.

"Z-Zero Two.. you're hurt you shouldn't be walking.." he said softly to her.

Truth be told, he knew the girl could take it.. but he also knew well that Hiro wouldn't want her to get hurt in the process, which was bound to happen if Zero Two kept on pushing herself to the limit.

"D-Darling is more important... darling is more important" she muttered to herself softly, her right hand clutching her left arm, which to her felt like falling off from all the torn muscles.

She grit her teeth. Truth be told the pain was unbearable. But she would do anything for her darling, just like he did for her.

_If darling can do it... so can I._

As she approached Hiro's motionless body, she crouched down, the pain in her ankles amplified as she was forced to support her body weight using her feet alone. She winced in pain, but it didn't matter. Slowly, she slid her arms underneath Hiro's body, the blood still gushing out of his wounds soaked her arms. She gently gripped onto Hiro bridal style and pulled his head closer to her chest. She was going to save her darling no matter what kind of pain she'd have to endure. Placing her lips on his right temple, she kissed him softly. _Chu ~_

"I promise... I'll save you D-Darling.." she whispered to Hiro. She didn't expect any response from him, just like the last time. But this time... something unexpected took her breath away.

"Uugghh" Hiro softly groaned as Zero Two could feel the air expelled by his soft wheezing graze her neck.

A small tear welled up in Hiro's good-eye and ran down his cheek. As Zero Two traced the path of the tear, she stood frozen as her eyes finally reached Hiro's lips. They were curling into a small smile. She herself couldn't help but crack a small smile as tears welled up in her eyes.

"I promise Darling... I promise" she whispered again as she nuzzled her cheeks against Hiro's.

A sign of affection... a sign that she wasn't ready to give up. Truly, when it came to Hiro... she'd never lose hope... not for him.

Gripping Hiro tightly in her arms, she turned to Ichigo, who by this point was staring at her in disbelief. She shared the same reaction as Goro. But she wasn't as awestruck as him because she knew of Zero Two's capabilities... and the lengths that one will go to protect the ones they love.

Zero Two's tired, broken eyes stared into Ichigo's giving her a knowing look. The horned girl nodded slightly and finally spoke.

"We're ready to go..."

Ichigo stood there, frozen. But this didn't last. She stared back into the pink-haired girl's cyan eyes, with conviction in her own eyes. Ichigo cracked a small smile, a reassuring one.

"Let's go save your darling.." she spoke softly.

The stoic, broken expression on Zero Two's face quickly faded and was replaced by one of relief and hope. She herself replied Ichigo's smile with one of her own, a few drops of tears cascading down her cheeks.

"H-Hai.." she faintly obliged. "Let's go save Darling.."

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

The atmosphere inside Delphinium's cockpit was dense... so dense that it felt like one could slice it with a knife. Goro and Ichigo, Delphinium's pilots, each focused on dashing through the barren wasteland in an effort to reach the plantation in time. They knew that Hiro's condition was bad.. no.. far from bad.. they knew that he could die any minute from his injuries. To them time was of the essence. None of them spoke a word.

The same could be said for the rest of Squad 13. None of the pilots dared to speak through the comms, knowing how serious the situation was. And although Ichigo and Goro didn't bother to update them on Hiro or Zero Two's condition, they knew that they were trudging through hot water judging by the harshness in Ichigo's tone when she ordered Argentea to alert The Doctor at once.

And thus everyone was silent, keeping their thoughts to themselves.. except for Zero Two who was softly speaking to Hiro as she tended to his wounds.

Before the Franxx had started its journey towards the plantation, Zero Two had rummaged through Delphinium's first aid kit stored beneath the panels of the cockpit. Much to her fortune, she found some bandages and antiseptic that would prove useful in helping nurse Hiro's wounds. The first wound that she tended to was the wound on his right arm... or what's left of it. The wound was deep, very deep. The white of his bones could be seen and it was obvious that if it weren't for a few pieces of ligaments holding the arm together, it would've fallen off by now.

Zero Two trembled as she used the distilled water from the first aid kit to wash off all the blood and wrap the bandage and gauze around the wound to maintain Hiro's blood pressure. Blood continued to pour out of his wound though but luckily, the bleeding stopped not long after, a product of all the maintenance Hiro underwent as a child in Garden.

After tending to his arm, she continued to nurse the wounds and cuts on his forehead. She made sure to stay far away from his right eye though, as it was obvious that it was wounded badly. She did however, take the initiative to place a bandage over his eye to stop the bleeding. Next, she moved on to wipe the deep cut on his left brow, it was deep but still manageable.

Her concentration in nursing Hiro's wounds was broken however when she felt a rush of air tickling her cheeks as she was tending to the cut on Hiro's brow. The expulsion of air came from Hiro's nose and it continued for several seconds. Hiro continued to expel more air from his nose as his wheezing grew louder and louder. His eyelids suddenly started to tremble and what seemed like water pooled up around his closed left eye.

Zero Two's hands started trembling, she didn't know what was happening.

"D-Darling? A-Are you awake?" she asked softly.

She didn't expect a reply just like before, so it was more of her muttering to herself than anything. Or so she thought.

The liquid that was pooling around Hiro's right eye began to cascade down his cheeks as his eyelids began to tremble more and more, almost as if they were shivering. Beads of sweat started running down his cheeks.

"W-W-What's happening to Darling" Zero Two thought to herself.

She was panicking. No.. panicking would be putting it lightly.. she was about to break down... again. Tears welled up in her eyes once more as her trembling hand cupped Hiro's left cheek.

That was when the words were spoken.. the words that would once again break the spirit Zero Two had tried so hard to build up.

"Z-Zero Two.. it hurts.."

_She was broken again.._


	3. It Hurts, Zero Two

**A/N: Hey, I'm back with another chapter. Sorry in advance if seeing Hiro all battered and beat up is a bit too much. **

**Without further ado, enjoy~**

**It Hurts, Zero Two**

"Z-Zero Two..." Hiro whimpered, his voice as soft as ever.

It was obvious to her... he was using all his strength to usher the words out of his mouth.

"Y-Yes, D-Darling?" Zero Two asked, her voice trembling as she closed the distance between their faces so she could clearly hear her darling's voice.

As she did so, Zero Two noticed that Hiro's lips were curled into a frown... one filled with agony and pain.. so much pain. Hiro continued his whimper as more tears cascaded down his left eye. Some tears were even soaking the bandage covering his right eye.

"D-D-Darling... w-why is he crying?" Zero Two's panicking mind thought to itself.

"Hnggg... it hurts.. so much..." Hiro finally let out his last whimper as he whimpered and winced in pain.

He was finally awake... to the unknowing spectator it would be a miracle for the boy to be conscious after losing so much blood and sustaining so many near-fatal injuries. But this boy was no ordinary boy, he was engineered to heal "rapidly". Due in part to the klaxosaur blood that flowed within him.. a product of ingesting his lover's blood in Garden. Although... that didn't mean that he was free from death's grasp. And most of all, that didn't mean he wouldn't be feeling the torturous, hellish pain of his injuries.

By now, he was gritting his teeth, trying to numb the pain but it was futile. His body was going into shock... he couldn't take it. The pain.. it was unbearable. No man should be alive to experience such hellish pain.. he wouldn't wish this pain on his enemies. And most of all, the boy prayed that his lover would never have to experience such pain.

More tears cascaded down his cheeks as he felt the full brunt of his injuries. His body shivered in pain and his wheezing became more and more rapid.

"AAAGGHH" he tried to cry out as hard as he could to ease the pain, but all that came was a semi-loud whimper of pain, his voice cracking in the process.

"DARLING" Zero Two screamed as she rushed to put her hands on Hiro's cheeks in an attempt to comfort her lover, who at this point was wriggling in pain.

He opened his mouth to try crying in pain, but all that came out was a soft whimper. Once again the pink-haired girl was broken, tears ran down her face, they pooled around her eyes and blurred her vision. But she knew that now was not the time to break down. She had to give her darling comfort. The comfort he sorely needed in his hour of pain.

"Sshhhh... Darling.. Darling, I-I'm here" she stammered softly, as she peppered kisses on his cheek and forehead in an attempt to calm him down.

"I-It's alright Darling.. calm down.. calm down.. I'm here.. listen to my voice.." she continued, choking on her own saliva whilst trying to hold back the tears.

But it was futile, she couldn't handle seeing her darling in so much pain. Back in the cockpit, she only saw how calm and collected her darling seemed to be before he blacked out.. but now she knew... he was trying his best to resist the pain... and now all of the injuries were biting back at him at full force, lending him no mercy whatsoever.

"AAGGGHH" Hiro cried in pain once again, taking in sharp breaths.

"Sshhhh... shhh please, Darling.." Zero Two sobbed as her voice cracked.

She couldn't resist the tears anymore.. it was heartbreaking to say the least. She continued to pepper kisses around Hiro's face and stroked his hair using her left hand in an attempt to soothe his nerves.

"HHNGGG" his whimpers of pain grew louder and louder.

His wheezing grew more rapid and every now and then he would gasp for air. The sheer amount of pain was too much for him to the point that the air felt too thin... much too thin for him to breathe.

Zero Two didn't know what to do. She hated herself to hell and back for not knowing what to do in a time like this. She desperately wanted to help her darling who was in pain but she didn't know how. All she could do was give him comfort through kisses but she knew deep inside that they were of no help.

_"AAAAAGGGHHH"_ she screamed inside her head which translated into her gritting her teeth and whimpering._ "DARLING'S HURT BAD DARLING'S HURT BAD WHAT DO I DO WHAT DO I DO HOW DO I HELP DARLING DARLING HURT DARLING HURT DARLING SCREAMING AND CRYING HOW DO I HELP"_

The inner voices in her mind were all bellowing out, it was absolutely deafening. But her raging thoughts went silent when she felt something rubbery come into contact with her left arm. Whatever it was, it gripped her arm so tightly that she swore it would've bruised her badly if it wasn't for her enhanced strength. But then the sudden realization hit her... it was Hiro's hand. She quickly darted her eyes towards Hiro's left hand, tightly gripping onto her arm, slightly tearing her pistil suit.

With every wheeze and grunt and whimper Hiro released, his grip on Zero Two's arm would increase tenfold. Sensing what her darling wanted, she gently pushed off Hiro's hand from her arm and immediately interlocked her fingers between his.

"I-It's okay, Darling... I'm here.. I'm here to keep you safe.." she stammered once again.

Hiro's grip on her hand was bone-crushing but she didn't mind it one bit.

"Sshhh, Darling... l-listen to my voice... I'm here... you don't need to panic..." was all she could think to say, tears continuing to stream down her cheeks, pooling beside Hiro's head.

Just like she did before, she continued to pepper Hiro's face with kisses of affection and love to calm him down while at the same time gently squeezing the hand that was interlocked with her's.

This time... this time it seemed to work.

He continued to have sporadic wheezes and whimpers for a short while but eventually... he calmed down. His wheezing became less rapid and ragged and became a lot more regular. The tears were also drying around his puffy eye and his whimpering softened even more, only wincing whenever he felt a rush of pain periodically invade his senses. He was calming down... the scent and kisses of his lover was finally calming him down. She did it... she actually managed to numb his pain. Calling it a miracle would be putting lightly. To him, it was an absolute God-send. And for once... he felt strong enough to open his left eyelid.

His lone eye darted around the white cockpit ceiling above him, and finally the pink-haired mass directly in front of him came into focus. It was his lover... Zero Two was there... her right hand clutching his left hand tightly and her left hand gently caressing his cheeks. He noticed that his head was elevated from the ground by something... soft. It was only then that he knew that he was lying down on Zero Two's lap.

"Z-Zero Two.." he whispered, trying to catch her attention.

At this point, the pink-haired girl was busy bending her abdomen over Hiro and peppering his cheeks with kisses. Hiro could feel small droplets of tears tickle his skin as they fell down from Zero Two's cyan eyes. But as she heard Hiro's voice, she continued to pepper him with more kisses and gripped his hand even tighter, thinking that her darling was about to lurch in pain once again.. like last time.

"Sshhhh... shhh darling I'm here... it's alright... your Zero Two's here... everything's going to be okay" she whispered into his ear as she caressed his hair, gently massaging his right temple.

"Zero Two.." Hiro whispered once again.

This time he could feel the tears cascading from Zero Two's cheeks soak his own cheeks as she broke into a sobbing fit. That was when the realization hit him... she thought that he was calling her name because he was in pain. That would explain why she was sobbing uncontrollably now and why her grip on his hand was getting tighter. He internally chuckled at his lover's behaviour. It was saddening to see her like this... agonizing over his pain.. but strangely... cute. It made his heart feel oh-so warm to know that he could always count on his Zero Two... his princess.

_"I need to let her know that I'm okay"_ Hiro thought to himself.

An idea sprung into his mind... one that would - in theory, comfort her in the process and put her mind at ease. Truth be told, he wasn't exactly in perfect condition and he himself knew that. He couldn't feel his legs... and judging by how much pain he felt from his arm, especially towards his elbow, he knew that his arm was either broken... or.. his lower arm couldn't be considered his appendage anymore. The thought of being crippled this badly scared him to no end... but Zero Two's presence and love made all those thoughts go away.

As long as he was with her... he was in good hands.

Releasing the grip he had on Zero Two's hand, he slowly raised his arm until he could feel her shoulder blades on her back. This didn't go unnoticed by Zero Two however.

"D-D-Darling?" she stammered as she ceased the barrage of kisses on his face and shifted her gaze towards her darling's face.

What she saw left her frozen in awe.. in longing... in relief. Her cyan eyes stared at Hiro... and his blue orb stared back. The heavy stream of tears continued to run down her face as she whimpered and gasped for air.

Her darling was really awake.

"D-D-Darling..." she repeated again, still stammering. "Y-You're actually awake" she choked as her whimpers grew louder.

Just as she was about to raise her right hand to cup Hiro's cheek, she felt something push at her back from behind, causing her to lean over Hiro, their chests coming into contact. Her face hovered over Hiro's, only separated by a few millimeters. And there he was... Hiro was staring at her cyan eyes with his lone eye, beaming at her with a weak albeit warm smile, like the ordeal he went through was just a dream.

"Hai, Zero Two.." he smiled. "And I'm okay... thanks to you"

There was a moment of silence as Zero Two absorbed the sight before her.. she was awestruck.. words couldn't describe what she was feeling in her heart.. and thus, the only way she was able to make them known to Hiro was to let it all out. And let it out she did, as if the floodgates that kept those emotions at bay were broken.

"NNNNNNGG DARLING" she whimpered, sobbing over him as both her hands cupped his cheeks tightly not wanting to let go. "I-I-I THOUGHT I LOST YOU" she continued to choke.

"It's alright Zero Two..." he whispered softly. "I'm here now"

"D-Darling... I should be saying that to you" she replied as she nuzzled her nose on Hiro's nose, their foreheads coming into contact.

"Daijoubu" he chuckled softly, wheezing harder as his damaged lungs struggled to meet his demands for oxygen.

"You've already done so much for me.. Zero Two.."

"N-No I haven't" she cried, her cyan eyes still staring at his. But soon after, she shifted her gaze to his right arm. "Y-Y-You're still hurt"

It pained him to see her like this... It always ached his heart to see his lover in pain...

_"There must be something I can do to comfort her"_ he thought to himself.

He released his grip on Zero Two's back and let his left arm fall to the floor. With his palm flat on the floor, he used all the strength in his bones to push his abdomen off Zero Two's lap, in the hopes of closing the distance between their lips.

"I wouldn't be able to do this... if I was hurt.." he chuckled softly right before his lips locked with Zero Two's.

The horned girl stood there frozen and awestruck, even more tears welled up in her eyes. But she didn't hesitate to reciprocate her darling's kiss as they both shared a passionate locking of lips, letting all their emotions slip through the action. It was bliss... to know that her darling, who she thought was on the brink of death, was able to surprise her... with a passionate kiss no less.

Their lips locked for what felt like an eternity until they both finally released each other from their kiss, both of them softly gasping for air. In Hiro's case, his wheezing became louder... but for once it was a good sign. Wasting no time at all, she wrapped her arms around his back and pulled him up so his head was level with hers as they both sat down on their thighs.

"I-I love you D-Darling" she whimpered.

Hiro reciprocated her embrace by wrapping his left arm around her neck, burying his face in the crook of her shoulder.

"I love you too.. Zero Two.." he softly confessed. "Thank you... for everything.. I don't think I'd be alive right now if it weren't for you" his words causing Zero Two to whimper even more.

Those words... they spoke volumes to her. Tightening her embrace on Hiro's back, she replied, stammering and whimpering loudly until her voice cracked.

"Always always always, Darling"

She was trying her best not to choke, but her efforts were futile. However, for once.. she didn't feel bad about letting the tears stream endlessly down her face.

Her darling was back and that was all that mattered.

"I-I can't live without you, Darling..." she tried to continue but the saliva and mucus pooling inside her throat made it all too hard.

Hiro tightened his grip on her shoulder, embracing her with whatever warmth he could supply.

"You're my world Zero Two. I'm glad I met you.. all those years ago" was all he could say before her lover turned into a sobbing mess, clutching onto him like her life depended on it.

But this time.. they were tears of joy.. of relief.

Time passed by slowly for the pair, as both of them took pleasure in the warmth they provided. Physical warmth and emotional warmth. They were reunited again and although both of them left the ordeal worse for wear.. they both knew that they were together again.. they'd always be together no matter what. Such is the nature of the Jian.

Unbeknownst to Zero Two, Hiro found the embrace so blissful that his consciousness betrayed him once again, driving him into a blissful slumber as he buried his face in the crook of her neck. Hiro's silence, except for his soft wheezing of course, startled Zero Two. Her mind raced once again, entertaining thoughts about what had happened to her darling.

"D-Darling?" she stammered softly, shifting her head towards the boy's shaggy black hair. "I-Is Darling unconscious again?" she asked herself.

To her, blacking out was the best case scenario. She was oh-so fearful that something far worse had struck her prince.

"W-What if he slipped into a coma?" another voice in her head bellowed out.

She gasped and choked, the sudden realization hit her like a truck.

"N-Neh D-Darling..? A-Are you okay?" she asked again, her voice now cracking and filled with fear.

But the flames of doubt and paranoia were quickly doused as soon as she felt Hiro's left arm tighten its grip on her shoulder. And the words that escaped Hiro's lips soon after would leave her in a state of relief... and slight embarrassment.

"My princess..." Hiro sighed softly, his voice as hushed as a whisper.

Those two words left Zero Two flustered, oh-so flustered. A deep shade of crimson painted her cheeks as her pupils dilated.

"D-Darling sees me as his princess?.." she asked herself.

Never in her life had she heard Hiro refer to her in such a sweet manner. She didn't mind it though, not one bit. It sent butterflies flying within her stomach and made her heart feel warm, a feeling she always attributed to her darling's presence. And now that feeling was amplified tenfold.

It was clear to her now that her lover was deep in his slumber... all was well. She beamed a smile to herself, droplets of joyful tears falling down her face. The pink-haired girl then buried her nose in Hiro's shaggy hair and tightened her embrace around him.

"I'll get you home safely.. my prince" she sniffled softly into his ear, wearing a warm smile on her blushing face.

And thus the pair were left in that position, with Zero Two embracing her darling, gently rocking him back and forth to ease his slumber, and Hiro reciprocating the embrace, clinging on to Zero Two like his life depended on it.

They were together again... she had her prince.. and he had his princess.

XxxxxxxxxxX

"Neh, Zero Two" she heard a voice coming from behind her.

It was a girl's voice, that was obvious enough, but she couldn't make out who it was. Her world was black, her head felt light and all she could see was darkness.

"Zero Two.. it's time to wake up, we're here" the voice repeated again, as soft as a whisper it was.

She groaned.. where was this voice coming from, and why couldn't it just leave her and darling alone.

_"W-Wait.."_ she thought to herself. _"DARLING... WHERE'S DARLING"_ a voice screamed in her mind. Her senses quickly returned to her as she struggled to open her eyelids.

The pink-haired girl tried to move her arms but immediately stopped when she felt the soft fluffy texture of hair on her hands... it was Hiro's hair. Only after a few seconds did she manage to fully open her eyelids, Hiro's shaggy black hair taking up most of her field of vision. On her neck, she could feel soft expulsions of air tickle her skin, accompanied by the sound of someone softly wheezing. She breathed out a sigh of relief. Her darling was okay.. he was safe. The two lovers were still in the position they had been in before they dozed off, both extremely exhausted from the horrific events that took place not long ago. It felt like days since the crash happened, but in fact it had only been hours. It all felt like a cruel nightmare... but sadly it was far from it.

Just to make sure that she was no longer in dreamland, she took in a deep breath and exhaled in relief. Her darling's scent was there... all was well. However, the voice from before tore her away from her blissful daze, calling out her name once again.

"Neh, Zero Two" the voice called out.

She could feel someone's digits gently gripping her shoulder and rocking her ever so slightly. It was Ichigo... that was when the realization hit her... they must've reached the plantation.

"Come on, get up, Zero Two. We need to bring Hiro to the medical bay" Ichigo suggested softly, not wanting to sound forceful to the horned girl.

Zero Two sniffled in an effort to suck in the mucus that was dripping from her nose, a product of all the sobbing and crying she went through before her slumber.

"Hm" she hummed stoically in agreement.

Ever so slowly and gently, she pulled back her arms from Hiro's back, releasing him from his embrace.

"Nggghhh" Hiro subconsciously groaned, his lone eye still shut. Somehow, even in his world of slumber, he knew that he was leaving his princess's embrace.

"Shhh, it's okay, Darling. I'm not going anywhere" she whispered into his ear as she gently slid one hand under his knees and another on his back, trying her best to delicately pick him off the floor.

She finished it off by pecking her lips against his right temple whilst tucking his head in her embrace, so that Hiro was able to rest his head on her chest.

"We're finally home, Darling. You're safe now... I'll never leave your side" she continued to whisper into her prince's ear as she began walking to the exit of the cockpit, flanked by Goro and Ichigo. "I promise.."

Ichigo couldn't help but flash a weak smile at the girl's behaviour towards her darling.

_"T-That's so sweet"_ she thought to herself.

Even though she once had feelings for the black-haired boy, she was content now... she knew that Hiro was in good hands.

As the trio finally took their first step out of the cockpit, Zero Two winced and closed her eyes as the light of the world around her momentarily blinded her eyes. As her vision started to settle, she could see that Delphinium's faceplate was mere feet from the ground, and a flight of mobile stairs connected the face plate to the metallic floor of the Franxx hangar they were now in. At the bottom of the stairs was the rest of Squad 13 with expressions of fear and concern on their faces. Even Mitsuru, who was always stoic and shrewd looked worried. Deep down, he cared plenty for Hiro; especially ever since they'd gotten their childhood feud settled and done with.

As her eyes scanned everyone present in the hangar, those cyan orbs stopped and froze, and her pupils dilated the instant they landed on the person she didn't expect to see. The very person she despised the most for tearing her away from her darling all those years ago. Doctor Franxx. She narrowed her eyes in anger and embraced her prince tighter, bringing his face closer to her chest.

As for the Doctor though, he took notice of the pink-haired girl's stance. He sighed silently.

_"I can't blame the girl..."_ he thought to himself. _"All those years, keeping them apart. What the hell was it all for?..."_

He clenched his metallic fist to stop the guilt from invading his senses but it was all too futile. The guilt was too overwhelming for him. Such was the burden of a man with a thousand sins.

"Maybe... just maybe I can get my redemption by helping the poor boy".

He chuckled silently at the thought. To him, he knew well that there was no redemption for a sinner such as him. But he would still help Hiro nonetheless, it was the least he could do.

Ichigo and Goro escorted Zero Two, who was still clutching on to her darling, bridal style, down the mobile set of stairs. When the time came to place Hiro on the stretcher, flanked by two medical personnel however, she hesitated and stopped in her tracks, her grip on her prince tightening even more. Ichigo noticed this and gave the pistil a puzzled look.

"Z-Zero Two? What's wrong?" she questioned softly.

But the pistil didn't bother to respond, instead she hung her head low, and stared at the black-haired boy in her arms, her pink bangs covering her facial expressions.

"Zero Two" a stoic, half-robotic voice came from ahead of them.

She didn't bother to look up. She knew whose voice it was and never in her life would she willingly give her prince to him.

_"I'll always keep him safe... always"_ she thought to herself.

"Zero. Two." the robotic voice bellowed once again.

Fed up with the damned doctor's voice, she apprehensively lifted her head up, her cyan eyes staring furiously at the doctor's. The doctor stared back, but in his heart he didn't have any hate for the girl. He understood her actions and he couldn't blame her for it.

"Please... Zero Two" he spoke once again, his voice was no longer stoic and emotionless. It almost sounded like he was pleading. He motioned his hand towards the stretcher beside him, his gesture almost giving off a welcoming vibe.

"Hiro needs medical attention immediately" he continued. "And I know that you're aware of it too. So please..".

His hand was still hovering in the air, pointing towards the aforementioned stretcher. Zero Two didn't respond, and opted to stay silent for a few more moments until she finally spoke, her words laced with hate and distrust.

"How do I know you're not gonna tear Darling away from me like last time?" she hissed at the man, mercilessly.

To her, the bastard didn't need any mercy. He never gave them mercy in Garden, and thus he didn't deserve any.

The atmosphere was tense. All eyes were on her and her darling. She didn't care. The man she despised was right in front of her. She sure as hell wouldn't let her darling fall into that bastard's clutches again.

"_But what if it's the only way to heal darling... and, and... he doesn't have much time left... he'll bleed out if this keeps up"_ a voice sprung up in her mind.

She grit her teeth. As harsh as that was, it was true. If Hiro wasn't sent to the medical bay for treatment, there was a chance he would.. _d-die_, the word echoed in her mind.

_NO NO NO.. AAGGHH WHY IS THIS SO HARD WHY DOES THIS OLD HAG HAVE TO BE HERE!_

A long, audible sigh broke her from her raging thoughts.

"Zero Two.. I know that I've done both of you harm in the past" the doctor spoke.

This was hard for him to do. To admit his wrong doings in front of so many people, and in front of the lovebirds he wronged. But he had to do it. He wouldn't cower now.. he wouldn't forgive himself if he did. He continued.

"But I assure you, I will do my level best to help Hiro. Please Zero Two, it's the only way he'll survive"

A harsh silence followed his words, the red-horned girl seemingly too furious and distrustful to reply. The pistil grit her teeth and tightened her clutch on her prince. She stared down at Hiro.. his skin was pale.. unnaturally pale. She closed her eyes and grit her teeth harder.. this was a hard decision to make.. and no one could blame her for being so apprehensive.

_"D-Darling forgive me..."_ she thought to herself as small droplets of tears ran down from her closed eyelids.

"Fine..." her voice finally broke the silence. "But I need to be with him.. at all times. No. Exceptions" she hissed, emphasizing the last two words in her sentence.

The old man chuckled silently as he let out another sigh. He was getting too old for this.. but if those were her demands then he'd have to meet them. Love was such a fickle thing to him, but seeing the pistil acting so overprotective over her partner; like a mother bear defending her cub; he couldn't help but feel somewhat amused.. And dare he say _touched._

"As you wish, Zero Two" he replied in a somewhat defeated tone. "Quickly now, please put him on the stretcher, we don't have much time to waste.. I'm sure you know that"

She didn't bother with replying to the Doctor's words. The only thought on her mind was that of her darling. Slightly trembling, she loosened her grip around Hiro and delicately placed him on the stretcher, making sure that none of his wounds were agitated. The boy let out a small groan, this time his lone eye opening slightly, revealing the blue of his pupil. Zero Two rushed to grip her darling's good-hand with her left hand and stroked his shaggy black hair with her right. The medical personnel didn't pay heed to her antics, and swiftly picked up the stretcher, carrying it to the medical bay. She walked swiftly by their side, not letting go of her prince and doing her best to comfort him. As she walked, she leaned in her face towards Hiro's and gently placed a kiss on his lips. She followed up by whispering softly into his ear.

"It's okay, Darling. We're home. You're safe now. I promise I'll be with you the whole way.. _every step of the way_.." she whispered whilst beaming a warm smile towards Hiro.

Hiro wheezed slightly louder than normal and shifted his eyes towards Zero Two's cyan eyes. He mustered all the strength he could to give her a warm smile. In truth, his body ached like he was being tormented in Hell itself. But the sight and touch of his princess helped numb the pain. With whatever strength left that he could muster, he mouthed the three special words that would always brighten up his princess's day.

"I love you".

Although no audible sound came out of Hiro's lips, Zero Two perfectly knew what he was trying to say. She pecked his lips once again, now with small tear drops running down her cheeks.

"I love you too, Darling.." she whispered softly. And once again, she repeated the same words she did before, "I'll be by your side.. always. I promise.."

Her promise was akin to the one that the pair made all those years ago. Under a mistletoe tree in the snowy forests of Garden. And once that promise was made, the pair swore till the end of time that they'd never break it.

XxxxxxxxxxxxX

It seemed like days, but it had only been a mere 6 hours since the Super Lehman class appeared. The members of Squad 13 were all seated in the lounge in their wooden house. All of them had so many questions in their minds, so many grievances that needed closure, and the one question that continued to linger on in each and every one of them was..

_"What the hell happened back there on the battlefield?"_

Among them, Ichigo was the most restless, she cared for Hiro, almost as much as Zero Two she'd say, or hell, even more than the pink-haired girl! Flashbacks of the sight she saw in Strelitzia's cockpit never failed to creep up into her mind. The sobbing, the depression, the black-haired boy's motionless body, all the blood and bits of flesh on him. She quickly shook her head to rid her mind of those thoughts.

"N-Neh, Ichigo? Are you okay?" Goro's voice broke her from her daze. She turned her head, her eyes meeting the blonde-haired boy's.

"H-Hai" she stammered.

Goro gave his partner a questioning look. By the looks of his brows furrowing inwards, it was obvious that his partner's words left him unconvinced at best and worried sick at worst.

"Ichigo.. it's pretty clear that you're not okay" he stated, concern lacing his voice.

"OF COURSE I'M NOT OKAY GORO" she lashed out, startling her partner.

Goro was taken aback. Why was she suddenly so angsty and on edge?

"O-Oi Ichigo y-you don't have to shout.." he stammered softly.

His cheeks were showing a slight shade of red, due in part to the slight fear he felt at his partner's sudden outburst. But as his eyes scanned Ichigo's face however, he noticed her eyes, they were puffy and her cheeks were glistening. She was tearing up. Her outburst was more of a product of sadness and anxiety, less so of anger and frustration. She didn't stop there however.

"H-HOW CAN I BE OKAY W-WHEN HIRO'S GONNA BE CRIPPLED FOR THE REST OF HIS LIFE" she choked, tears bursting out of her eyes like a dam had been broken.

The other members took notice of this, how could they not? They all stared at the blue-haired girl's tirade, each of them far too frightened to speak up.

"I-I was there too Ichigo..." Goro muttered to himself, not expecting Ichigo to hear his words.

"I HEARD IT ALL GORO" she choked once again. "I WAS WELL AWARE OF WHAT HAPPENED IN OUR COCKPIT! HE WAS SCREAMING IN PAIN! H-HOW CAN I BE OKAY WHEN ALL I COULD DO WAS HEAR HIM SCREAM AS IF.. AS IF-"

She couldn't take it. All the flashbacks of Hiro wriggling in pain and screaming inside Delphinium's cockpit flooded her thoughts. She fell on her knees, her hands clutching her head. She was sobbing uncontrollably now. To the rest of the squad, it was a pitiful, surreal sight. As for the blonde-haired boy though, he saw it as a sign to immediately give his partner the solace she sorely needed. If it wasn't obvious before this, it was clearly evident now that the attack had traumatized Ichigo.. _deeply._

Goro slowly approached the crying pistil and wrapped his arms around her, whispering sweet nothings into her ear in an effort to calm her down. As the sobbing mess of a girl calmed down, the other members stared at the pair, their eyes showing signs of a thousand yard stare. They knew in their hearts that whatever happened to Hiro had changed the boy's life forever. Deep inside, they were all scared that they too might share the same fate one day..._ or worse. _

But truth be told, they were also wondering what sort of hardships the boy's pink-haired lover was going through. Surely she didn't escape the crash unscathed.

_Their assumption wasn't far from the truth..._


	4. Don't Let Me Go

**Don't Let Me Go**

The room was dark, it was already approaching nightfall when the black-haired boy had successfully underwent all the relevant surgeries. To say he came out scathed was... putting it lightly.

During the surgery, the boy was sedated and put into a deep slumber, for good reason. The surgeons were forced to hack off an appendage... _they had to_. There was no hope in returning motor functions to that appendage, and thus, losing it was the only way for the boy to survive. What remained of his right arm was but a bandaged, slightly bloody stump.

As for his legs, there was no use for them anymore. During the crash, the peripheral nerves leading down from the bottom of his pelvis were permanently severed, with no hope in returning any sort of motor functions to his lower appendages. He was paralysed from the thighs down.

_He was crippled._

As if things didn't seem dreary and hopeless enough for the poor boy, he was blinded in his right eye. But the silver lining in all this misfortune was that science and technology had advanced greatly since the days of old. And thus, it was an option for him to replace his lost appendage and his lost eye with robotic ones. It was entirely up to Hiro to choose, but alas like all alternatives, they too had their respective drawbacks.

As magnificent and advanced as those prosthetics would be, they could only do so much in the end. Applying them would prove to be a daunting task if he wished to undergo the process, mainly due to the fact that he'd have to cope with hours upon hours of physical rehabilitation.

That wasn't even taking his other injuries into account.

His lungs had been punctured to hell and back. In fact, a good chunk of the surgery session was spent draining all the blood that had pooled within his lungs. And his brain certainly didn't escape the ordeal unscathed. There was a gashing wound behind his head, one that his pink-haired partner failed to notice due to the thickness of his shaggy black locks. If he'd have waited any longer to receive his critical treatment, he would've died from internal brain haemorrhage for sure.

So even if he did get those prosthetics, they would only be able to return his lost limb and grant him perfect sight once more. As for mitigating the hellish pain he would soon feel from all his other injuries, that was a task leagues beyond their capabilities. Modern medicine certainly had the potential to heal him, but he was a walking corpse after all. A person could only take so much physical damage before passing the point of no return.

Despite all of the shortcomings the black-haired boy faced due to the fateful crash, his lover, his pink-haired princess, stood by his side throughout the whole ordeal. Not even for a second did she leave his side. Much to the annoyance of the surgeons, she was there beside him on the surgery table, interlocking her fingers with his own and clutching his hand tightly.

She saw the surgeons hack off his right arm. She saw the blood and the gore. All that blood.. she never knew humans could bleed so much. It was a sickening sight, one that didn't leave her mind. And one that would never leave her mind. But despite the gruesome sight she witnessed, she persevered and stayed by her darling's side. She had to be strong... for his sake. Although she was having her own bouts of traumatic fits, she knew that Hiro needed comfort the most.. not her.

Zero Two knew that the road ahead was going to be tough for her darling; mentally and physically. The Doctor had also told her that Hiro's brain didn't escape the crash unscathed and although the injuries he sustained could be considered relatively minor, he would have to bear the burden of suffering mental disfigurement; which according to the old man ranged from seizures to schizophrenia. Though he himself didn't know which ailment the boy experience first.

It was depressing.. oh-so depressing for her.

She wept and wailed beside Hiro's motionless body for hours and hours after the surgery was done. She needed to let it out; all the pent-up grief and anguish she'd been storing inside herself. She couldn't keep the facade on for long.. but at least her darling wasn't awake to see her. She knew that if Hiro saw her break down so pitifully, it would only cause him more stress. He was always one to be distressed whenever she was down in the dumps anyway; like the sweet, adorable, innocent boy he was. And according to Dr. Franxx, high amounts of stress had the off chance of worsening his brain's physical trauma and by extension his own emotional trauma.

Despite all of this, despite the odds that were stacked against the pair, she would never leave his side. She would never falter.

And even now, she was steadfast in keeping her promise; the promise she had made all those years ago.

In the dark room, dimly lit by the lights of the inner city from outside the huge floor-to-ceiling window, she sat by the boy's side, who by now was sporting a bandage over his right eye, and had some bandage wrapped diagonally around his shaggy black hair, supposedly to stop the bleeding from the gaping wound Zero Two had failed to notice.

In the dim light of the room, she continued to kiss her darling, peppering his face with kisses. Even though he was deep in his slumber, something within her intrinsically knew that even the littlest things she did helped him.

_"Maybe he might have some good dreams if I continue kissing him"_ she thought to herself, wearing a weak, exhausted smile.

As if on cue, she heard an audible sigh come from beneath Hiro's green, translucent oxygen mask. As she shifted her baggy eyes towards Hiro's mouth, she was greeted with a warm, sweet smile. Zero Two giggled softly to herself, not wanting to wake her slumbering prince.

"I hope you're having a good dream.. Darling ~" she whispered softly into his ear.

Truth be told, she was feeling pretty drowsy and sleepy herself considering the fact that the only sleep she had was in Delphinium's cockpit. She yawned softly before proceeding to pepper Hiro's forehead with kisses once again.

_"Maybe a few minutes wouldn't hurt"_ she drowsily thought to herself.

Before she dozed off into dreamland, she took a hold of Hiro's left hand; his only hand; and began kissing it gently. She then delicately pulled it closer to her cheeks and gently laid down on it, resting atop Hiro's chest. She took one last glance at her prince's head, and saw that his lone left eye still closed.

"We'll get through this together, Darling.. I promise" she whispered softly to her prince.

And with those heartfelt words of reassurance, she finally shut her eyes and dozed off. She needed the rest, even if it was only for a few meagre minutes.

XxxxxxxxxxX

The world was black.

_"I must be dreaming"_ the pink-haired girl thought to herself.

"Zero Two.." a voice came from beyond the black void. "Zero Two..."

She knew that voice, _it was her darling's voice_.

"D-Darling? W-Where are you?" she called out into the void.

All she could see was darkness.

"Where the hell am I?" she absentmindedly muttered to herself.

The voice came once again, "Zero.. Two... _w-why_...".

"D-Darling?" she stammered.

She was scared. Her digits began to tremble and fearful beads of sweat began trickling down her exhausted face. Was this really a dream? Why was her darling calling out her name in such a faint, exhausted voice? And where was he? She couldn't see him at all. All she could see was her own body and the dark, endless void encapsulating her.

"Why... why did you do this to me?" was the last thing Hiro's voice muttered before the black void was flooded with a familiar set of flashbacks.

Those flashbacks, they were the girl's recount of the events that occurred just hours before.

Zero Two choked, saliva clogging her oesophagus as soon as her cyan orbs fixed themselves on the scene in front of her. She knew now that Hiro was referring to the crash. The crash that broke him, _crippled_ him; mentally and physically.

She broke into tears, her breathing became ragged as she fell onto her knees.

"D-Darling.. I-I'm so s-s-sorry" she choked.

The pink-haired girl couldn't muster the strength to say anything else. Deep in her heart, she knew that she was the sole suspect of her prince's demise. Her recklessness, her heavily flawed plan to finish off the Lehman class, and her carelessness.. all of it had lead to this moment. If she was going to blame anyone for Hiro's suffering and torment, she'd point the accusatory finger towards herself.

The flashbacks continued to play in the void, Hiro's screams of agony and pain reverberating and echoing throughout the pitch-black expanse.

"AAAGGGHHH" Hiro's voice screamed at the top of its lungs as the scene inside Delphinium's cockpit played back. "HNNGGGG"

His wriggling and whimpers of pain and agony penetrated her ears. Yet again did the pink-haired pistil bear witness to her prince's torment. Was this really a dream? It couldn't be. It felt all too real. Even if it was a dream, what good would it do? What kind of solace would it bring to her heart? Her darling was crippled, bound to undergo neverending pain for the rest of his life perhaps. And that fact wasn't a dream, it was reality - cold, harsh, _brutal._

"STOP IT! STOP IT, PLEASE!" was all the horned girl could wail as guilty tear drops cascaded down her cheeks.

She wanted it to stop. She couldn't bear to hear her lover's screams once again. They were mortifying, traumatizing, able to send a ceaseless series of shivers down her spine. Anymore of it and she was bound to go insane. She'd even go as far as to say that her darling's screams drove her to the brink of potential suicide.

She sobbed into her hands as she sat on the floor... _she was broken yet again._ But despite seeing the girl reach her breaking point, the black void was merciless.

"LOOK WHAT YOU DID TO ME!" the boy's voice bellowed as Hiro's motionless, mangled body came to view inside the void.

His arms laid limp by his side and his legs were frighteningly bent out of shape. Beneath his fragile frame was a pool of blood. His own blood. It was almost as if his entire body had been drained of the red substance.

It was a gruesome sight for Zero Two. One that would forever be ingrained inside her psyche. A testament to her self-perceived failure to protect her darling; to keep him away from the clutches of harm and pain.

"AAAGGHHH" Zero Two whimpered loudly, her hands clutching the sides of her head. She devolved into a sobbing mess, her tears of guilt and pain pooling beside her. "I-I'M S-SORRY D-DARLING" she sobbed as her voice cracked.

The guilt.. the overwhelming guilt she felt was indescribable. If she hadn't been so careless during the attack on the Super Lehman then surely her darling wouldn't be in so much pain right now. If only she could turn back time and made things right. But the world didn't work that way. She had her chance to defend her darling..

_And she blew it._

"I-IT'S ALL MY FAULT" she wailed again, tears flowing down her face and mucus seeping out from her nose. "I'M SORRY, DARLING.. I-IM S-S-SO SORR-"

"Shhh.. Zero Two, it's okay" Hiro's voice came again, interrupting her guilty tirade in the process.

But this time.. this time it was calming, soothing, reassuring. A stark contrast to his previous tone of harshness and anger.

"I-It's not okay" she weakly choked. "I-I hurt you" her voice cracked once more.

She didn't bother to ask why Hiro was consoling her all of a sudden after his outburst, after all she did to him. She felt that she had no right to ask.

"No you didn't. Zero Two. If it weren't for you.. I wouldn't be alive"

"BUT I LET THAT MONSTER HIT US" she lashed out, her voice laced with hints of confusion, guilt and pain.

She felt something tightly grip her right shoulder. Warmth. She felt a slight warmth invade her senses. Yet she was still in the empty void.

"Zero Two... it's not your fault.." Hiro's voice whispered again.

"YES IT IS DARLING" she shouted again, spurting tears from her eyes as she closed her eyelids. "I-IF I WASN'T BEING SO RECKLESS YOU-" she choked, the guilt.. the pain.. the sins... it was all too much to bear. "-YOU WOULDN'T BE CRIPPLED"

"That's not true Zero Two. You were there when I needed you most, and you're here for me now. That's all that matters.." the voice reassured as the grip that Zero Two felt became tighter.

The pink-haired girl felt an expulsion of air tickle her neck, making her fine hairs stand straight.

"I-I don't understand" she muttered to herself whilst releasing an audible series of sniffles.

She was confused, oh-so confused. The void was black and empty and she was alone. But for some reason she felt warmth. She felt a presence. It was her darling's presence, she couldn't mistake it for anyone else's. The peaceful, comforting aura he always radiated was a familiar one to her; one that she sorely craved right now in her hour of hopelessness and guilt. But she couldn't see him. The pistil turned her head to her sides and to her back to scan the void around her but all she could see was darkness. Even Hiro's mangled body was nowhere to be seen and the flashbacks had miraculously stopped playing.

"W-What's happening..." she stammered, her voice trembling. "I-I just want to get out" she stammered once more before she continued to sob whilst clutching the sides of her head.

"Shhh it's okay... it's okay. Open your eyes Zero Two.. it's okay you're safe. I'm here. Your darling's here"

"O-Open my eyes?" she questioned with her voice still shaking. She couldn't make sense of what was happening. Once more she asked herself if it was it all a dream? She couldn't tell. The pain, the guilt, the agony... it all felt so real..

"Open your eyes.." Hiro faintly demanded a second time, his voice as hushed as a whisper, as delicate and calming as a warm Summer's breeze. The girl who, up until this point was still sealing her eyes shut, finally willed herself to open her eyelids. The black void turned into a blinding white...

_"He needs you.."_ another voice came into her head as her world went white. But this time.. it sounded a lot like her own voice...

XxxxxxxxxxX

Weeping.

That was what Hiro heard when he struggled to open his left eyelid. He felt something on his stomach, something soft and.. the smell.. it smelled like strawberries. Even through his oxygen mask, the sweet, familiar smell of strawberries was noticeable to say the least. They seemed to bombard his senses, evoking an intimate feeling of warmth he couldn't quite put his finger on. He also felt the blanket on his stomach grow damp.

_"N-Nani?"_ he thought to himself, completely perplexed by the scenario he found himself in.

He shifted his head to the right to scan his surroundings. No one was there.. peculiar. He shifted his eyes downwards to his right shoulder and what he saw stunned him, his body stiffening in the process.

_"W-W-Where's m-my arm",_ his mind raced as his heart pulsated vigorously, making the heartbeat detector beside his bed inundate the otherwise silent medical room with an incessant series of deafening beeps.

_Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep._

"N-Nononononono.. D-D-Did they c-c-cut it off?..." he asked himself again inside his head as he stared at the stump that was supposedly what remained of his right arm.

His head felt light and he felt nauseous. Only now did the realization hit him that his right arm from the elbow down had been amputated; and the realization hit him like a truck. His breathing became hitched and ragged. The meagre act of inhalation and exhalation in itself grew more and more burdening as milliseconds came and went. He closed his left eye in an effort to calm himself down and to drown out the bad thoughts that threatened to break his already fragile sanity.

"Okay, Hiro. Breaaathe. Just breathe. Y-You knew this would happen. D-Don't be so alarmed. I-I'm sure Dr Franxx and his team can just replace it with a new robotic arm right? Good as new" a voice bellowed inside his head.

He didn't think it would work, but it did.. to some extent. Despite his breathing rate returning to normal, he still felt queasy, sick to the core. And his hasty words of consolation didn't do much to quell the negative thoughts that were beginning to swell inside his head. But his words did their job at least, he didn't expect a miracle to happen.

"Okay, okay just one missing arm. N-No big deal right?", he nervously murmured to himself.

He entertained that optimistic notion for a moment to soothe his nerves.. until another realization hit him. He could feel his right eyelid opening yet.. he couldn't see anything.

"Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck a-am I blind in my right eye?.." his mind raced once again.

He desperately wanted to cry. So what if he'd be labelled a coward and a wimp for doing so, he thought. Anyone else would surely sob their hearts out if they lost an arm and an eye. He sorely needed a break from all the tension and anxiety he was feeling. He desperately wanted... no, he desperately needed his Zero Two. Where was she?

But then he remembered...

"_The weeping sound.. and the wet blanket and that weight on my stomach",_ he reminded himself.

His pupil dilated, it was Zero Two. He shifted his head to his left and locked his eyes on what seemed to be a red mass sitting on something. The darkness of the room made it hard for him to make out what it was. Just focusing his sights on it was arduous enough considering his impaired sense of sight. As he stared at it longer, his vision started to clear up again as his lone eye began adjusting to the darkness.

The black-haired boy released a shaky gasp.

It was Zero Two... she was in her dark red Nines suit. He trailed the pistil's body until his eyes finally rested on her head, her pink hair sprawled out on his stomach. Her eyes were closed shut.. but tears still continued to stream down her face, soaking the blanket with tears, and by extension his left arm that she was clutching tightly.

He felt stiff, tears started to well up in his eye...

_"N-No Zero Two.. why are you crying..",_ he thought to himself as his vision started to blur from the formation of tear drops in his eye.

He struggled with all his strength to pull himself up so that he could sit up on the bed. The muscles in his abdomen were burning but it didn't matter. He needed to console her. He needed to comfort his princess. With the newfound resolve blooming inside his head, it was as if all the pain he felt and all the anxiety that clouded his mind faded away. Now he had but one goal... to give his princess the comfort _she_ sorely needed. His own solace could wait.

He took off his oxygen mask and leaned over her, the pistil's sobbing and weeping growing in audibility. Gently, he tried his best to release his hand from her grip without disturbing her too much. But his efforts were in vain as the grip on his hand became tighter. He sighed to himself.

_"She looks strangely cute like this. She's just... cute when she's clingy..",_ he thought to himself with a light blush tinting his cheeks. He sat there in silence.. taking in the sight of the beautiful pink-haired princess.

_"I-I mean sure it's a bit morbid to call her cute when she's weeping in her sleep but... when isn't she cute?", _his mind added playfully.

His blush became redder. He shook his head to get rid of the thoughts. Now wasn't the time to marvel at her beauty...

_"Although it's not really a bad thing to think she's cute right?" _another voice continued in his head.

He shook his head once again. Now wasn't the time. He needed to focus on waking her up. Whatever dream she was having.. it was clear that it wasn't good. He sat there for a few more moments, the silence only being broken by Zero Two's sniffling and sobbing. That was when he heard it. She was muttering in her sleep. Though as much as he tried to focus his ears on them, they were inaudible and unintelligible all the same.

He decided to lean his head closer to her and finally, he heard the words escaping her mouth.

"I-Im s-so s-sorry, D-Darling" she mumbled with her voice shaking as more tears seemed to cascade from her closed eyelids. "I-I hurt you..." she continued.

His pupils dilated and he took in a sharp breath for the second time. The nightmare she was having, it was about him. She was feeling guilty about him.

Once again, Hiro tried to release his hand from her grip and it worked, but it wasn't enough to wake up his princess. Instead she replaced the clutch on his hand by clutching the blanket on his lower abdomen. With his hand now free, he delicately gripped her right shoulder and leaned his face closer to her ear, his breath tickling her skin. Delicately and gently, he rocked her shoulder back and forth in an effort to awaken her from her terrible nightmare.

"Shhh, Zero Two.. you don't have to cry. It's all just a dream.. you can open your eyes. I'm here. Your darling's here for you"

It seemed to work. Zero Two's clutch on the blanket loosened. The pink-haired pistil was in a daze as she struggled to open her eyes, releasing a few faint mumbles as she shook herself awake. While doing so, she slowly lifted up her head and when her eyelids finally opened, her pupils dilated in an instant as they rested upon the lone blue orb staring back at her.

"D-Darling.. y-you're awake" she whispered softly, awe laced her voice.

But the relief in her tone quickly faded as fear and guilt flooded her mind once more. Tears began welling up in her eyes as she stared at the black-haired boy. She knew now that she had failed her darling twice. The first time she failed him had led her to this moment and the second... the second failure was in not being awake to calm Hiro down after the surgery; in not being there for her darling.

Hiro flashed the girl a weak, albeit warm, reassuring smile. He didn't want her to wallow in her guilt. She wasn't at fault here, and it pained to see her agonize over his state so badly.

"Zero Two it's okay, you don't need to cry. It was all just a dream.." he spoke softly to her, his voice filled with reassurance and comfort.

Hiro slowly brought his left hand to her cheek and began stroking it delicately while at the same time wiping away the tears that were still running down her face. As he stared at his lover's striking cyan eyes, flanked by her red markings, he could see the manifestation of guilt and agony in her orbs. She was feeling guilty, that much was obvious.

The girl stayed silent for a few moments, not moving an inch as she continued to stare into her darling's eye. Not even a whimper could be heard, but unbeknownst to the black-haired boy, a debate was sparking inside the teary-eyed girl's head.

"He needs you.. that voice told me that. D-Darling's always been there to comfort me with his cute smile and his warm embrace whenever I was broken, but... all I've ever done was sob and cry whenever he was broken. It's going to change. I'm going to change, for his sake.." a voice whispered inside her head.

"BUT YOU WERE THE CAUSE OF ALL THIS. I-IF YOU WEREN'T SO RECKLESS THEN MAYBE DARLING WOULDN'T-" another louder and aggressive voice lashed out before being cut off.

"No. I'm done with sobbing and weeping. Darling needs me now more than ever. I have to be strong.. for his sake. I need to give him comfort. I need to be strong s-so he can be strong too. I'll be his wings, just like I promised.." the previous softer voice spoke again. "Darling needs a shoulder to cry on, to lean on, and he can't do that if all I do is sit and cry and sob and weep and-.. I-It's time to put the guilt away. Darling needs me. My prince needs me.."

Zero Two lifted herself off Hiro's lower abdomen, stood up and immediately embraced her darling, her prince. But this time, her embrace was different from the embraces she gave after the crash. They were no longer filled with guilt and fear and agony and desperation. Instead, they seemed to be oozing with comfort and reassurance; reassurance that things were going to be okay for her darling.

No longer were tears running down her face. She sported a warm smile as she pulled her head away from Hiro's hair and positioned it mere inches away from her darling's. Hiro was stunned, but only for a moment, before he wrapped her back with his left arm and gripped her shoulders, bringing her face closer to his until their foreheads and noses came into contact.

The pink-haired girl stared into Hiro's eyes, not averting her gaze for even a second.

"Darling.. H-How are you feeling?" she questioned softly, her voice shaking slightly as she mustered the courage to ask Hiro the sensitive question.

"You can tell me truthfully Darling.. I'm here for you. You don't need to hide your feelings.." Zero Two continued, accompanying her gentle invitation with a small beam.

She knew that her darling was always one to put up a brave facade whenever he was feeling scared or anxious so as to not scare her. But this time she needed to let her darling know that it was okay to break down - to let go of the facade.

Hiro gave her a weak smile, still staring into her eyes as tears welled up in his own.

"T-Truth be told Zero Two.. I-Im scared" Hiro stammered softly as he tightened his embrace on her.

The teary-eyed boy released a nervous set of chuckles; presumably to stifle the gnawing fright and dread within his heart, Zero Two inferred. But that bashful facade of his crumbled away within a fleeting second as his previous grin curled into a shaky frown. He did his best to revert his pout into a smile by biting on his lower lip, but as much as he tried, he couldn't form the smile for his princess.

Zero Two instantly tightened her own embrace on her darling, encasing him in a warm, soothing hug. She would never let go.. she'd always be there to lend Hiro a shoulder to cry on.

"I-I'm just... so so scared.." he finally whimpered and sniffled, his voice cracking.

Before his head had even been buried in the crook of Zero Two's shoulder, he began to sob and weep; uncontrollably. The floodgates were open at long last. Once more, his breathing became ragged and he whimpered loudly. His breath hitched and he took in deep breaths as more tears continued to stream down his face.

"Shhh, shhh it's okay, Darling.. let it all out.." Zero Two whispered into his ear in a reassuring tone as she gently rubbed his back with one hand and stroked his hair with another. "I'll always be by your side darling, and I'll be with you every step of the way. I promise.."

Hiro continued to sob and whimper in the crook of her shoulder, all the emotions that were previously bottled up and chained inside his heart bubbling out uncontrollably. He needed this. He needed to let it all out. And as usual, his princess was there to give him the consolation he needed to put his aching heart at ease.

After some time, his sobbing and whimpering finally died down and his breathing returned to normal.

With his face still buried in Zero Two's shoulder, he spoke softly. "I love you.. Zero Two" he said as he sniffled and sucked up the mucus seeping from his nose.

"Mhm ~ I love you too, Darling" she replied softly, pressing her lips against Hiro's temple as she did so. "And I'll always love you.."

The two lovebirds stayed in their embrace for what seemed like an eternity, with both Hiro and Zero Two now sitting on the hospital bed and the blanket sprawled about. Neither of them wanted to let go and no one could blame them for it. For once, they were finally out of the fire. For once, they could enjoy each other's warmth without the ever moving gears of time and the shadow of death looming over them.

"N-Neh, Zero Two.." Hiro softly spoke, calling out his lover's name.

His voice broke the comfortable silence. He pulled his face away from the crook of Zero Two's shoulder and stared into her cyan eyes. There was an indescribable warmth spreading from within his chest when he did so. It was as if just Zero Two's gaze was enough to put a lid on his fragile emotions.

"Hai, Darling?" Zero Two replied softly while her hands slid up Hiro's neck and finally rested upon his cheeks, gently wiping away the tears.

For a moment Hiro averted his gaze away from Zero Two's eyes and a small frown crept up from his face.

"I-I've just been thinking.." Hiro stammered, his voice as hushed as a whisper.

"Hm?" the pink-haired girl hummed in confusion as she noticed her darling's strange behaviour.

"W-Will APE throw me away?. I-I don't care what they think about me b-but.."

He paused for a fleeting moment as his tremoring orb indecisively darted across his lover's heavenly visage. After a few seconds of silence, he finally continued albeit with a downcasted gaze and a tone that was weaker than before.

"I don't want them to take me away from you.." the black-haired boy weakly clarified. "Not again.."

"Neh, Darling. Look at me" Zero Two ordered softly.

Her voice sounded somewhat firm. But Hiro could notice the reassurance in her voice.. a tone of firm reassurance perhaps?

The boy lifted his head up in obligation, and his blue eyes stared back at the girl's cyan eyes.

"I'm not going to let anyone tear us apart, Darling. Never again. That's a vow I'll always keep"

The instant their eyes locked, she cupped his cheeks tightly and pulled him in for a kiss. And there they sat in silence on the hospital bed, sharing a passionate kiss. One filled with love, with comfort, and with reassurance. It had been far too long since they both shared a proper kiss. The last time they did it, the circumstances surrounding them were.. less than conducive to say the least. But at least now they were alone to themselves, free from the world's prying eyes. Tears started welling up in Hiro's eyes once again as his psyche was sucked into their passionate kiss.

_"M-My princess..."_ a voice crossed his mind. _"You really know how to calm me down don't you?" _

He closed his eyes tightly in an effort to focus his mind on enjoying the passionate kiss he was sharing with his princess. Delicately, he slid up his left hand behind her neck and up her pink hair and gently pushed her closer, allowing him to deepen the kiss with Zero Two.

_"What did I do to deserve you..."_ he thought to himself.

The kiss.. it was bliss.. it felt like they were one, one in the same. It reminded him of those times in Garden, all those years ago under the mistletoe tree. With the red-skinned girl and her large canines... and the candy. Oh those were bittersweet memories. And that moment in Garden, one way or another it led to this moment he was experiencing now. The bliss he felt.. it completed him, made him whole again, stitched his crumbling pieces together. It was as if the pain and anguish he felt at his state completely faded away. He knew.. he knew in his heart that his princess would never let him go, that she'd forever stay true to her heartfelt vow.

As their tongues explored each others mouths, he could feel that this kiss was different. It was akin to the one that he shared with her when he regained his lost memories. The kiss.. it was filled with comfort and longing. More tears cascaded down his cheeks as his eyelid started to tremble.

_"I love you... so so much Zero Two.." _he thought to himself.

He didn't need to break the kiss to confess his love. The kiss was enough to show for it. Hiro wasn't the only one feeling the rush of emotions, the rush of love in his heart.

_"I'll protect you darling.. I'll always protect you.. just like you protected me all those years ago.." _she repeated in her head.

Tears began welling in her eyes. No longer did she feel guilt and regret. She had a new resolve. A resolve to help his prince get through the toughest of times. To never let him go.

_"Don't let me go"_ Hiro beckoned inside his head as his hand shook behind Zero Two's hair.

He could feel it; the rush of emotions. The love, the comfort and the longing that he sorely craved was now bombarding his heart as he struggled to deepen the kiss with his lover, his guardian, his princess.

_"Don't you worry, Darling. I'll never let you go.. I'm your wings after all.."_

Such was the nature of the Jian bird. Never could it fly on it's own.. but in a pair, it could accomplish so much. As long as the pair were together, they could soar into the Heavens and find their long-sought paradise. And part of that paradise.. was in knowing that the other was always there for them, through the thickest and thinnest. Truly, the prince had found his princess.. and the princess was there by her prince's side. Together.. together they would soar through the skies and brave through this world full of hate and suffering, never to let go.. forever more - misfortunes and setbacks be damned.

_Maybe there was a chance that this would all just pass over.._

**A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! Truth be told, I don't think I can guarantee a 'one chapter per day' release date anymore since I've realized that most of the chapters I've written are all over the place in terms of pacing and the flow of events. I can use some of them, but I'll have to do some heavy editing on most of them. Nevertheless, I'll try to maintain a regular release schedule.**

**My plan for this story is to trudge into slice of life territory rather than action, so stay tuned to see how Hiro deals with his injuries. And if you're the type of reader to like seeing Zero Two take care of Hiro, then you'll most likely be a fan of what my later chapters have in store.**


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